The Stars Above
by Tehpootisman
Summary: When a young student by the name of Sensou Kuraima comes across a fragment of a dead god, he is bestowed new powers and slammed facefirst into the world of the supernatural. Through trials and tribulation, he must prove himself worthy as Earth's Champion of Astrum Deus, the late God of the Cosmos! Based on the Calamity mod. Cover image by yours truly!
1. They Call Me God

**Note: Updated to account for the new resprite of Astrum Deus.**

* * *

The moon was rising into the skies above the town of Kuoh, Japan. It was a relatively peaceful evening, and if things stayed that way, it would be a perfect night for stargazing.

A young adult male walked down the street, heading home with the intention to do exactly that. This was Sensou Kuraima, an American boy of Japanese descent who had moved to Japan so that he may experience modern life in his parent's homeland, and currently on his third year at Kuoh Academy.

The academy in question was notable as being pretty prestigious, in a lot more ways than one might think. Yes, it was a pretty good school, but it had a really odd trait;

The women there were to _die_ for. Busty bombshells, as far as the eye could see! The school had only recently become co-ed, previously being an all-girls school (Something that Kuraima didn't expect to still be a thing). He's not sure _why_ his parents had recommended this school, but a part of him internally thanked them.

Though, maybe it was to try and help him cope with his society anxiety. Of course, it didn't help at all since he was at year 3 without a girlfriend. Given that the other girls here were even worse than the boys who were explicitly here for the boobs, swooning over cute boys and arguing over yaoi ships, that was probably for the best. He had friends here, sure, but he was unpopular enough to avoid getting shipped with some other dude.

Now, there's nothing wrong with having two dudes who love each other. Despite growing up in an Christian Household™ back in America, he was very open minded about these kinds of things, even if he was uncomfortable at the thought of getting it up the ass. However, there is a _very fine_ line between shipping fictional characters and shipping real human beings.

He sighed, looking up at the star-filled sky to clear his mind and rid himself of the weird thoughts.

Speaking of which, stargazing at night was one of Kuraima's favorite hobbies, apart from the occasional parkour run, and of course, gaming. He thoroughly enjoyed the idea of alien life living somewhere out there in the great void, and deep down, he secretly hoped that he'd live long enough to meet them.

The problem was that he didn't have quite the guts or the mathematical capabilities, due to his mild ADHD, to be an astronaut. So for now, this would suffice.

As of right now, he was walking down the street, grocery bags in hand. He hummed a little tune to himself, minding his own business. Out of nowhere, an old man suddenly stumbled, dropping all of his belongings. Upon seeing this, Kuraima decided to stop and help out. Sure, he wanted to be a nice person, but mostly he helped out because he didn't want to come off as a total douche who would ignore an old man in need.

"Ah! Thank you, young man. Not everyone would go out of their way to help an old geezer like me..." he thanked the third year student, chuckling at that last bit.

"...No problem, sir! Just doing the right thing!" He said, the awkwardness filling his voice.

As Kuraima bent down, he spotted a peculiar necklace. It had a large, bright orange pearl-like orb firmly enveloped with a chromatic metal that resembled oxidized bronze. When he offered it back to its rightful owner, the old man chuckled again. "You can keep that thing, young lad. Old gramps here kept it as a good luck charm, but I think you're gonna need it more than me! Haha! Now you be careful, young man! There's a pretty nasty thief goin' around and robbing houses! Nobody's been harmed yet, but I'd still play it safe if I were you!"

Kuraima gave him an incredulous look, then smiled awkwardly, nodding his head respectfully and pocketing the priceless jewelry before finally making his way home, blissfully unaware of the can of (literal) worms he was about to open.

Unfortunately for him, this was only the first of many, for he had just purchased a full shipment of worm cans.

* * *

Several hours passed, as the 3rd year student finally finished up his homework. Delightfully, he immediately changed into his pajamas, and flopped onto his bed. He'd originally intended to go do some stargazing on his balcony, but he'd spent too much time on Reddit.

His room was pretty decorated, housing his bed and his personal computer. Various poster covered sections of the walls; some of which he'd brought with him from America, others he'd bought at local conventions.

He sat up, looking at the amulet that old man had given him, watching as how the light of the nearby lamp shone beautifully on its metal casing. Kuraima idly wondered; why would this old man just give away such a thing to somebody like him? How much money was this thing worth?

More importantly...why did he feel so sleepy…?

His outstretched hand slumped onto the bed as an overwhelming sleepiness overtook him.

* * *

" _Wake up…witness my demise…"_

Kuraima awoke with a start. He had to blink a few times to make sure that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

He was in _goddamn space!_

He had to pinch himself a few times, but not once did he reawaken in back home in bed.

Okay, so he was in space, without a helmet. Yet, his head hadn't popped like a balloon. Maybe that was just a myth after all...but still, what the hell was going on?

His question was answered when a massive being nearly rammed into him. A gargantuan space worm, covered in a shell of gray and bright teal plating much like that charm he'd received, shot past him. He helplessly twirled about in zero gravity for a few moments before he came to rest on a large asteroid.

How….oddly convenient.

Despite its terrorizing size, Kuraima couldn't help but feel enamored by its beauty. In the beast's wake, waves of golden stardust flowed.

However, nothing is sacred. He couldn't hear it, but he could feel the fabric of time and space warping as yet another worm shot out of a rip in reality. It wasn't as big as the space worm, but the student could feel his legs trembling from the imposing aura this….thing….gave out. Soundlessly, the smaller worm pierced through the space worm's shell like an arrow, the former's body wriggling as it burrowed inside like a parasite. Had there been sound, then he would've probably heard ethereal squeals, the sound of flesh ripping, bones snapping, and other discomforting noises.

The armor plating curled and bulged as the intruder ate away at its flesh, causing space worm to writhe in agony. It took a lot of effort to avoid soiling himself when the intruding predator shot out of the open wound, its victim clearly dead.

It had died an agonizing death, unable to resist. Kuraima could just feel the existential dread looming over him.

The smaller worm coiled around the fallen beasts' husk, and simply _crushed_ it like a tin can.

" _That which devours…it came for me when I was being careless. I was foolish to think I could escape simply by running to the edge of the universe."_

The scene faded into pure black as Kuraima found himself standing on an invisible surface.

" _The Devourer of Gods...a great beast whose hunger cannot be satiated. Unlike most beasts, who are simply named because of their sheer size, this one was more literal. It had actually grown so large, it could consume godlike being such as I. Nobody was safe."_

In front of him, the visage of the massive worm. It showed the creature eating titanic eldritch beasts, tearing them apart like a dog playing with dolls.

" _With my last breath, I released what remained of my pieces. I was a god born of man's faith. It was only fitting that I, as they say, 'gave back to the people.'"_

The world around Kuraima changed, this time changing to that of a fantasy world. He was in the middle of a bustling medieval city when everyone suddenly stopped, pointing up into the sky and panicking as a massive meteor fell from the sky.

" _I should've been more gentle about it, but I didn't really have a choice."_

The scene changed again, showing the meteor's impact zone. A sickly miasma came from the air as the plants outside of the crater began to wilt and turn purple, transforming into alien entities. ' _Gentle, my ass…'_

Awkward pause.

" _...anyways...Several warriors were chosen to wield my power."_

Groups of various people appeared around Kuraima. There seemed to be no end to the variety- people from all walks of life stood around him. Kings, peasants, humans, elves, beasts, some in-between, and some even beyond the spectrum of organic biology.

" _However, one piece ended up in your hands; the charm you received. You see, I got lucky."_

The scenery once again changed to the space worm's destruction. The Devourer, as it was apparently called, sped away from its kill to return to whence it came. A small piece was caught on the worm's armor only to dislodge itself inside the dimensional gap between worlds.

" _Many things happened, most of which involved me collecting dust in antique stores. However, I have now found a compatible user...you. The reality of this world gave me a form known as a Sacred Gear. My "sacred gear", as they call it, is an utterly blank slate. As you evolve, so will my power. I have provided a small taste of my own abilities to get help you started as this world's avatar of mine."_

A silent pause. For a moment, the world around the student seemed to brighten.

" _I must go soon. As it is, I am only a soul in the Astral Plane, and even now I can only barely maintain the connection needed to converse with you. But allow me to inform you of several things you need to know."_

Kuraima, taking in the information surprisingly well for someone with ADHD, nodded solemnly.

" _First of all, there's more than meets the eye. From what I have seen, this world has much to offer in the supernatural."_

Another pause, allowing the student to process this information.

" _However…chances are that you will meet others from my world. It will become inevitable. However, not all of them will be out to get you. There are other gods on the run to escape the Devourer's jaws. I'm quite certain of this… for many of them are already here."_

Kuraima shivered as the world around him flashed once more, before he finally asked the important question. "Hey...what's your...name?"

The ethereal voice paused.

" _I am known as Astrum Deus. It translates to "Star God" in latin. A fitting name for the lord of the cosmos, is it not?"_

Before Kuraima could answer, the world began to grow white.

" _The wakening world beckons. Sensou Kuraima, Earth's Avatar of Astrum Deus. Your destiny begins...now."_

* * *

Kuraima woke back up in bed. The charm was now firmly sitting on his neck, the chain wrapped around like a proper necklace. He took a moment to process what just happened.

Then the realization kicked in. "Holy shit! I just met an alien!"

Quickly, he booted up his Nintendo Switch and started playing Bayonetta 2, attempting to push the looming existential dread away. After all, he had literally just accomplished his "impossible" life goal in the middle of high school. (And in chapter 1, no less.)

Thank god for weekends!

However, he then heard the sound of glass breaking downstairs and froze, ruining his latest attempt to achieve a Pure Platinum ranking.

' _The hell was that?!'_ He thought. Then he remembered the old man's warning.

Shieeeeeeet.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

 **Showerthought: If the Devourer of Gods consumed** _ **literally**_ **any character from Highschool DxD, he'd become bullshit OP by almost all standards.**

 **Oh yeah by the way, I'M BAAAAAACK.**


	2. Worms

" _Hello, this is 119, emergency services, how may I help you?"_

Kuraima held his iPhone to his ear as he called Japan's equivalent of 911. "Yes...uh...I would like to report what I believe is a house invasion in progress…"

He wasn't stupid. He wasn't some shonen battle-action protagonist who would recklessly charge into the fray. That worm god didn't even give him a inkling of an explanation of what his new powers were capable of!

" _Please remain calm, we're sending police units immediately. Is the intruder armed?"_

Were they? Hell if he knew! "I….I don't know...all I know is that there's someone in my house!" If only he could just see through walls! But alas, beggars can't be choosers.

Kuraima continued to mentally thrash around until he felt an overwhelming headache. He clutched his forehead, desperately trying to remain calm.

—

 _The God of the Cosmos could see plenty enough. Only the Devourer could avoid his watchful eyes._

—

The amulet was glowing, pouring knowledge into his brain, which was sensually narrated by the disembodied voice of David Attenborough. Items of high value around him began to glow a soft yellow. He could see the glowing silhouette of a painting in the hallway, even through the wall. A spider roamed beneath the floor, marked with a green, arachnid-shaped dot. In the place he believed to be the downstairs kitchen, the figure of his house intruder, glowing a bright, hostile red. Unlike the spider, he could see a detailed image of this person, almost as if he were a cheater using wallhacks in an online match.

Bald male, rather buff and rigid, flaky dried skin, with a row of spines running down the length of his body. Oh, and the gaping maw of teeth.

' _What the actual fuck?'_ Kuraima thought to himself. ' _He looks like those fucking Hell Knights from Doom!'_

" _Excuse me sir, is everything alright?"_ The dispatcher asked. The student quickly snapped back to reality. "Oh...yes...I'm still here..It's just…" He didn't even have to put any effort into faking it, he was already mentally drained from the headache and forced insertion of knowledge. "I've just got a migraine, because i'm really stressed out…"

" _Sir, I understand this is a very stressful situation, but please remain calm."_

"I know...I just got a look at the intruder. It's….a bald dude...and his skin looks really dried out…He doesn't even look human." And Kuraima thought that his _own_ skin conditions was bothersome enough.

Just then, the inhuman invader looked up towards him. He didn't hear him...did he?

Yes, yes he did. He's heading up the stairs…! "Oh sweet jesus he heard me."

Kuraima reached down and grabbed something wedged in the thin space between the bed frame and the mattress; a standard combat knife, a gift from his father. He pulled it from its sheath, ready to make a last ditch effort to protect his precious belongings...and his own life, of course.

For once in his life, he wished he had the Second Amendment™ on his side. But he was stuck here in his home with nothing but a knife and probably some other improvisational weaponry.

" _Sir? Are you there? Hello?"_ The 119 responder could be heard asking as the student leaves his phone on the bed.

A foul stench seeped into the room, giving Kuraima urge to hurl yesterday's lunch. He did his best to steel his resolve, raising the knife into a less-than-optimal attack stance as he took up an ambush position. His hand trembled, as he'd never been into anything potentially more violent than a shoving fight.

He had little warning, other than the magical wallhack, when the beast-person pulled his arm back, and fucking _punched_ through the wall, aiming to grab his throat and wring his neck like a chicken. Claws gently bristled against his neck as he jumped back, yelping like a little girl.

Panicking, he swung the knife with reckless abandon. Blade met dried flesh as he struck its palm, cutting it up. Drops of blood dripped from the shallow wounds. Upon discovering that its prey fought back, the house intruder squealed in anger, withdrawing its arm. The student used this moment of reprise to catch his breath, panting loudly.

At this point, it became _very_ clear that this person was not out for ill-gotten gains, but for blood. Didn't make the situation any less worse for him, though. Now, the question was how to escape this mess….

The door snapped in half, flinging wooden splinters into the air, as the house intruder burst through, snarling. However, Kuraima was nowhere to be seen. The only sign of him was a recently opened window.

—-

The so-called parkourist hung from a ledge, his grip tightening in the chilly pre-dawn air.

He'd chosen to abscond from his room, via the window. Already, he was regretting it. It was pretty cold out here, and he didn't have much room for maneuvering. His name was supposed to translate something along the lines of "Climber" but this was ridiculous.

However, it became even more readily apparent that he'd just goofed big time when he looked over and saw how far away the ground below him was.

Okay, parkourist or not, he was _not_ willing to drop from a two-story building from the second floor. Survivable, yes. But still very, _very_ unpleasant.

He didn't have much of a choice when the house intruder poked out of the window, glowing beady eyes staring down at him as drool gathered within its mandible-filled mouth. It heaved, dropping a ball of sand —congealed with an assload of saliva— right onto his face. The climber instinctively let go, dropping down to the ground below.

' _Fuuuuuuck, how many STDs did I just get?'_

With a thud, Kuraima landed on the ground, in the middle of his decorational backyard garden. He began to wipe off the offending spitball when he felt something bite his hand. He recoiled, pulling a segmented little worm out of the mess. It wriggled wildly, flailing, desperate to rip into his flesh and feast on his insides. Grossed out, he tried to yank it off, to little success. Eventually, he ended up crushing it, resulting in a nasty mix of brittle carapace and soft, moist worm guts, causing the student holding it to gag intensely.

He flung it off towards the dirt, and finally took a moment to recollect himself.

So now here he was; chased out of his own house by the most disgusting supernatural entity of all time. Not only that, but he'd left his house keys inside of the building, so he was also locked out.

Fan- _fucking_ -tastic.

"Hey, uuuh…I guess I'll come back later?" A new voice spoke up. Kuraima looked up to see some homeless-looking man armed with a crowbar.

"...What are you doing here?"

The homeless man shrugged. "Oh, I _was_ gonna rob your house. But then I saw that you got caught up in….whatever the hell you're doing." He admitted. So this was the house robber the old man had warned him about?

Kuraima just stared at him for a few good seconds as the monster hissed down at them.

"I...guess I'll go now." The man said, turning away.

"N-No! Wait!" The student called out. "I'm locked out of my own house! Surely you can help me get back in?" The man looked very bewildered. "You fuckin' retarded, kid?! That thing's not human! It'll fuck you right up!"

That….was a very good point. Just a few moments ago he was trying to defend himself. Why was he suddenly so concerned about going back inside? He could just wait it out, and wait until the police arrive!

Except...what if the police are outclassed? It's a supernatural entity, for god's sake! As per rules of fiction media, cops are almost always useless when put up against such beings!

No, no! That's just fiction! A tale!

No, wait. If the supernatural exists, then what else was real?! Was he gonna end up in Area 51, or was he going to be locked up at SCP's Site 19, where he would then be sodomized by Dr. Bright's Chainsaw Cannon™? So many works of fiction, so many possibilities—

"Ack!" He called out when the would-be robber pinched him. "Dude, you alright? You spaced out there!" Kuraima rubbed the spot on his shoulder where he got pinched. "Y...Yeah. I'm fine."

But he wasn't fine. Why did he want to re-enter the house so badly? He didn't know. Finally, he sighed. "You got anything to do? I left my phone up in there…"

—-

 **[A few minutes later…]**

"Hey, you got any fives?"

"Go fish. You got any aces?"

"Go fish."

Kuraima and the homeless-looking man, who he had learned was named Nyke, sat across from each other, playing a game of Go Fish. As for why his new buddy was bringing a deck of playing cards to a planned home invasion was a mystery for another day.

The beast had lost interest in the teenager after chasing him out of the house, and according to Kuraima's magical wallhacks, he could see it rummaging through the fridge, greedily stuffing its face with fresh groceries.

' _Fucking freeloader.'_ He thought to himself, adjusting his legs on account of his incredibly sore lower half.

"You got any pain pills?"

"Go fish— Wait, what?"

"Ugh."

The two were interrupted by a twisted snarl as two shapes came out of the bushes. Another of the twisted, dried individuals came out; another bald male, and as expected of a fanfiction about an ecchi harem anime, _a female_.

Kuraima would've rated her body a 7/10 —maybe even a 9/10 for the monster girl schtick— on the 4Chan Rating Scale™, were it not for the grotesque dried skin that looked more like twisted carapace than anything else. So instead, she gets a 3/10, and a foreseeable restraining order.

"Gwaaarh!" She hissed menacingly, revealing her maw full of twisted teeth and mandibles, a white crystalline substance coating them. "Food! Food! Two adolescent young males! Tonight we shall feast!"

The two aforementioned males looked at each other.

"I don't know if I wish she meant that in a sexual way. I don't want that fucking meat grinder she calls a mouth anywhere near my dick but at the same time I'd rather _not_ die." Nyke stated

"...You and me both, stranger." The student and the criminal nodded in agreement, the two turning back to face their opponents in tandem. "We gonna fight this out?"

"As much as I don't like our chances, I say we've no other choice. At least, until the cops arrive."

Kuraima grabbed at his waist for the hilt of his knife, and nearly blanched when he felt nothing but an empty sheath. He'd tossed the knife aside in his panic when he'd jumped out of the window earlier.

Too late to dwell on that, as the alpha bitch charged him. She slashed at him, scoring first blood! It was a shallow cut, but it stung like a bitch nonetheless. He stumbled back, looking for a weapon to use. Then, he spotted it; in the distance sat his combat knife, early morning lights glimmering off its blade like the Holy Aura of Excalibur™.

Kuraima jumped back, focusing his attention on his opponent once more to avoid the Scourge's swiping claws as she moved in for a follow-up attack.

"Come to me, my dinner! I'll eat you raw!" She taunted, twisting her snake-like tongue between her teeth and mandibles.

"I'd rather not!" Kuraima responded. He threw a panicked right hook at the alpha, only for her to catch his wrist at blinding speeds. She pushes him back, up against the side of his house, threatening to wrench his arm from his body. He clenched his teeth as searing pain shot through him, the predator getting face-to-face while wearing the lovecraftian equivalent of a shit-eating grin.

"Hey! Eat this!" A bloodied Nyke suddenly shouted, slamming a crowbar into the monster's head, spreading guts and the like…

Actually, the crowbar snaps into two.

The Scourge offhandedly slaps Nyke away— who is immediately dogpiled by the screeching male— before refocusing on her prey. "Where shall I bite first? The throat is so tasty, but i'm in the mood for some ribs!"

While she monologues about how she was gonna cannibalize him, his free hand managed to feel up the valve for the water hose faucet. Glancing around, he notices that said hose is connected to a recreational water sprinkler. Not one of those soft ones you ran through as a kid, but one of those _high-powered_ ones that stung a teeny tiny bit if you got too close to where the water came out. He twisted that valve like there was no tomorrow, unleashing a firm stream of water through the hose.

This caught her off guard, as she turned around to try and find out why she felt water on her backside...only to get sprayed directly in the eyes. Her grip loosened for but a moment, which was all he needed. He mustered all of his strength, slamming his knee into her stomach.

Brittle chitin shattered beneath the force, prompting saliva and parasitic worms to slip from her surprised mouth. The student made a break for it, despite his now very sore knee, running towards the knife's resting place.

But alas, lady luck was busy binge-drinking, when a ball of wet sand struck his shin with enough force to disrupt his stride and send him collapsing to the ground. The other male, the one who had invaded his home, had torn through the back door upon realizing that its leader had been hurt and immediately went on the offensive, firing sandy spitballs at the student.

As the beast charged him, Kuraima scrambled to grab his blade. He was barely able to grasp it just as the beast was upon him! He rolled back over, swinging the blade in a wide arc across the creature's chest, creating a large gash. Wounded, the man-scourge retreated, hissing.

He took this moment to catch his breath. The two Scourges approached slowly, wary of any tricks he might try to pull.

" _Gyaaaaaaagh!"_

Kuraima heard screaming and looked over to see Nyke getting his hand chewed up by the battered desert menace.

"Nyke!" He called out, prepping the knife. But then he hesitated, knowing that he probably couldn't throw for shit if his life depended on it.

Knife or no knife, the two of them were still sorely outmatched.

"How interesting!" The female called out, "The two of you are the first to last this long! A full minute!"

' _Has it really been that long…?'_

"Unfortunately I'm afraid that my hunger for human flesh has grown too strong for me…" She glances over at the water sprinkler for a moment. "...to hold at bay!"

There was something Kuraima couldn't hold at bay either.

"...Why human flesh?" The alpha Scourge stopped, looking back at him. "Ex….Excuse me?"

' _Me and my big mouth. Here goes nothing!"_

"Aren't humans just a hassle to kill? I mean, come on, there's livestock, out there in the countryside, with probably tenfold more nutritional value. And, uh, like...uh….oh, right! Humans tend fight back when cornered, and they tend to go searching for people who go missing, y'know!"

' _Thank you, Terrible Writing Advice video on alien invasions.'_

Silence reigned for a while. Even Nyke stopped screaming like a little bitch. "Little human... _are you serious?_ "

Kuraima shrugged halfheartedly. "...Maaaaybe?"

An awkward pause ensued before she started screaming. "...That's. IT. **I'm going to strip you down, down to your bones!** "

"But I just—"

" **SHUT UUUUUP! HOW DARE YOU BRING LOGIC INTO THE EQUATION!"**

As she screamed, tons of the chitinous worms emerged from every opening on her body, _including the unmentionables_. What he'd previously assumed to be body mass was actually a writhing mass of worms.

Screw the 4Chan rating system, this gal's a straight up a fucking _one._

" **FEED, LITTLE ONES! TEAR HIM APART! SHRED HIM!"**

The undulating tidal wave of worms obeyed her command, inching towards Kuraima and the downed home invader, who was desperately trying to hobble away.

' _Damnit! I can't attack her, even if I could throw a knife, because then I'd be open to her big…what's the word….lackies.'_ He silently thought, weighing his options. ' _If I attack one of them, the others will come after me. I'm not even wearing shoes, so trying to traverse across the worm army is a no-go as well!'_

...Screw it! He brandished his knife, facing towards the closest scourge; the one who had just attacked him before the human flesh debacle.

' _Astrum, please! If you're listening, help me! Bless this blade that I wield or something!'_

The large gem on his Sacred Gear began to glow...

The scourge, seeing his action as a threat, went on the offensive, charging at him. This time, however, Kuraima was ready. He held the knife up, with the intention of making the man-beast impale himself. When his opponent caught on to his plan, it was too late.

The student for a moment thought that his arms would buckle under the pressure, as the knife dug deeply into the being's chest, piercing through bone, muscle, and heart tissue like a piece of cake.

For a moment, he felt dread. He had just ended someone's life! But he tried his best to ignore it. After all, it _was_ in self defense.

Now feeling internally twice as dead as the actual dead beast, pulled his blade out and shoved the dying body away from him, distracting a good number of worms as they stopped to feast on the man's flesh.

The blade was now covered in an ethereal glow, with magical neon energies illuminating every scuff and scratch on the blade.

—-

 _Whereas the previous ability was a power held by Astrum Deus as a physical being, this ability stems from him as a god-like entity. With this power, an avatar of Deus can infer a blessing on behalf of the god, who cannot do so mainly because he's dead._

 _People or objects given the Cosmic God's blessings can achieve greater performances! The closest comparison might be Shirou's Reinforcement spell. Weapons become sharper, fires burn brighter, and so on._

 _For now, Kuraima can only bless smaller, simpler objects. The knife is only about 10% more powerful, but against the Desert Scourge's brittle chitin, it might as well be a finely-crafted greatsword made from the most elusive of metals! But who knows what he might be able to pull off in the future…?_

—-

Did...that voice straight up mention some dude named Shirou? More specifically, Shirou Emiya from the Fate/Night series? Huh. Weird!

He was having second thoughts. Maybe, just maybe, he could fight back! But his thoughts were rudely interrupted when the worms gathered around him and begun _flinging_ themselves at him, in an attempt to grab a foothold on his skin.

Let it be known; Kuraima did _not_ enjoy having creepy crawlies touching him _anywhere._ Especially those that actively tried to dig into his flesh! He backed away, scanning the yard for a new escape route. He saw Nyke in the distance, who'd managed to stab the other Scourge to death with the broken crowbar.

"Dude you gonna be alright!?" The student called out. He got a cry of pain in response.

"Aaaaaaugh! Their teeth are covered in salt! It _fucking_ hurts!" Well, that explains the white stains. At long as that alpha doesn't bite him, he should be good to go. "Are you able to get outta here?"

"I can manage! But how the hell are we gonna beat this bitch? And where's the goddamn cops?!" Nyke replies, stabbing a worm through the head as it edged too close to him. "You called them almost half an hour ago!"

—

Unfortunately, the cops had pulled up to the wrong house, where a robbery in progress just so _happened_ to occur at the same time.

—

Kuraima, trying to think of an answer, looked over at the Desert Scourge once more. She stood there menacingly...or at least, she attempted to. Over and over, she continued to glance over at the water sprinkler, even going so far as to scoot closer to it.

Then, the student realized something. ' _That's it! Her mouth is full of salt, and salt makes you thirsty as hell! I should know; for I put too much salt on everything I eat!`_

He had the distraction, but not the means to directly utilize it. Unless…

Kuraima breathed in, mentally steeling himself, holstering his knife.

' _Okay, the thing I said about shonen protagonists…fuck it! I'm gonna do it!'_

He exhaled, and ran full sprint across the worm field.

"Oi, kid! What the hell are you doing?!" The burglar yelled. "You're gonna die!"

Sharp pincers snapped at his ankles with audible clicks, which he desperately tried to ignore as the smaller worms were messily crushed beneath his steps, getting yucky worm guts all over his precious socks.

"You're pretty ballsy, for a human!" The Scourge called out, gathering sand within her palms. "But that courage won't do any good!" She swung her arms, sending a pair of hardened sand balls at him.

He managed to avoid the first one, only to feel a sharp pain shoot through his ankle as the second one struck. With his stride ruined and an overwhelming sense of deja vu, he misstepped and came collapsing down with an embarrassing flop.

 _`Seriously? I was downed by the same attack? TWICE?`_

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw his opponent move in to stab him with her claws, forcing him to quickly roll over, but not in time to avoid a glancing blow to his side, leaving her talons embedded in the ground.

"Stay **STILL!** " She screamed, wildly slashing at him with her other arm while trying to pry her claws from the muddy earth.

Without the time to think of a witty remark, he grabbed for the water sprinkler. He grabbed its base with both hands, aiming it directly at her face.

"God bless!" Kuraima shouted, as the rotor-blades of the water sprinkler became blessed, improving its performance.

Whereas before it simply stung a little, now, it packed a little bit more punch.

Plus, he now had it aimed right at her eyes. She screeched...no, _screamed_ as she was blinded with pressurized fluid!

"Bite on this!" His adrenaline pumping, the student yelled as he unsheathed his knife and stabbed her in the gut. A direct hit!

She stumbled back, blood oozing from her wound. She opened her mouth to scream obscenities, but not a single word came out.

He reared back, kicking her in the stomach and sending her down to the ground with a big _thwomp_. While she was down, he took his chance to jump onto her, straddling the Scourge and holding the knife above her, poised to strike. She stared at it, unable to look away and awaiting in inevitable.

The blade never came down.

"Oi, Kuraima! The hell you waiting for? Kill that bitch!"

The student held his hand high, trembling. "I….I can't do it!" He'd seen the fear in her eyes. Unlike the males who'd charged at him, she still resembled an actual human. Not a...visually pleasing one, but still.

"You can't do what?! She _fucking tried to_ _ **kill you!"**_ Nyke complained, trying to remind him of the obvious.

"I….ah….uh…." He'd lost his adrenaline high, but his frantic beating of his heart still rang throughout his head as he tried to think of a response.

Nothing came to mind. With shaky legs, he got off of her and stood up.

"L...Leave!" He demanded through pained breaths, pointing the glowing blade at her. "Leave and d...don't come back!"

She nodded frantically and scrambled away into the woods. Once her silhouette disappeared into the forestry, Kuraima half-collapsed, sitting down on the ground.

"Ack...fuckin' hell." The student sighed. His precious pajamas were stained with blood and cut up in various places. The t-shirt he could easily replace. However he really enjoyed that particular pair of pants. It was about time he washed them, anyways.

He could feel his vision getting darker and darker. By exerting himself, he'd kept his shallow wounds open. Yes, they were shallow, but they were pretty big.

"Hey, what was that sound?!" A male voice called out.

Finally, the cops arrived, walking around the corner.

"Holy shit, call an ambulance!"

Finally assured that he and his apparently new buddy were in safe hands, Kuraima passed out.

—-

 **Later, in the hospital…**

Kuraima slept soundly in his hospital bed, covered in bandages. He didn't need any stitches, luckily, but he'd be left with a sore, bruised leg for quite a while. He'd be discharged in about a day or two, but for now he was content to dream about the stars.

However, someone else had other plans in mind. A ripple, a portal, if you will, opens up beside his bed.

Out comes a woman, donning heavy armor, made from an unknown metal. Smooth curves gave it the appearance of chitin, giving off the aura of a god slayer.

Her boots clanked heavily as she walked to Kuraima's side. A second person shortly followed her in through the portal; he heavily resembled Raiden from Metal Gear Rising, to the point one might consider him a cosplayer were it not for the massive red mane of hair and the small rocket boosters on his upper back. At his sides, were several sheathed blades, two scimitars and a blood-red katana.

"Mistress," he began. "Pardon my insolence or ignorance, but are you sure you wish to do this? Wouldn't it be more merciful to kill him?"

"Very much so." She replied, withdrawing a syringe filled with an icky green substance, covered in a bright pink-ish aura. "But he still has a chance to live if I do it this way. Not everyone has a royal heritage like you, Von Crimsten, to overpower the infection."

She was referring to the Astral Infection, the plague that has destroyed many planets back in Astrum's world. Her bodyguard happened to be part of an extremely important bloodline, allowing him to assimilate and control his very own strain of this galactic plague.

"He is but simply a normal teenager, albeit one with an above-average mana supply." The hulking armored form of a woman continued. "I watched my own brother, even though blessed by the star god himself, suffer as the Astral matter within his body continued to generate until it poisoned him to death. The only reason we haven't had to trim out your symbiote is because your current body is simply a projection with a soul inside. If not even you were able to escape the infection unscathed, then what chance does _he_ have?" She questioned, motioning over to the teen.

Her bodyguard crossed his arms. "And so you would use my late father-in-law's plague, infused with the essence of the Great Devourer, to make sure he lives?"

"If a deal with the Devourer is what it takes, then so be it." She gestures to her own body, her bright, pixelated eyes glowing brightly in the dark hospital room. "I lost _everything_ to the Astral Infection. My family, my body, _my planet._ I'll be damned if I let the same happen to this beautiful world."

The cyborg in red stares at her for a moment, clenching his fists. The Crimson man knew all too well what is was like to lose his entire family. Twice, in fact.

Then, he nods solemnly. "Alright, Mistress Klaire. Do it."

Kuraima's unconscious form flinched as the syringe was imbedded into his neck, slowly depositing its contents into the student's bloodstream.

"We're finished here."

By the time Kuraima woke up, the two were long gone. The only sign they were even there was a slight stinging sensation on the side of his neck.

He shrugged, checking his phone. (It'd been returned to him after the police searched his house for any intruders. They found none.)

It was Sunday.

Fuuuuuuuuck, he'd literally just started his weekend only to sleep through it all!

—-

Meanwhile, Nyke got sentenced about a hundred hours of community service for conspiracy to attempt burglary.

They would've sentenced him with jail time, but seeing as how poor he was and how he had to get his hand amputated because it was so horribly mangled, they decided to give him a break.

—-

 **Hey lose—….** _ **LOYAL**_ **readers! I did it!**

 **I wrote another chapter for once!**


	3. Just had to be school

School.

A place of knowledge, and learning, what is supposed to be a land of wonder and opportunity.

Unfortunately for many, school is a cesspit of anxiety, tears, and disappointment.

Now, Japanese schools might be better than American ones, but let me remind you that while Kuraima's heritage may be that of Japanese descent, his mind was an American to the core! God bless the United States of America!

Except for the education system.

Fuck the American education system for the reasons stated in my poetic tangent about schools.

Even now, Kuraima felt extremely tired.

Yet, he has gotten a good night's rest, so while he was tired, he was in a paradoxical state of being highly alert yet exhausted.

Truth be told, it was agonizing.

He was tired because he'd had his entire weekend of personal time taken away from him by that worm thot. And let it be known that Kuraima practically worshipped the idea of having the spare time where he had nothing to worry about! He'd barely managed to get his homework done after getting out of the hospital yesterday.

Though, something also bothered him.

For some odd reason, though, there was a distinct lack of attention. Now, mind you, that was a good thing; Kuraima was very awkward in the face of attention.

Nobody came by to ask if he was okay. Hell, there wasn't any talk about a student being attacked and hospitalized in the first place!

If it'd been covered up as him being attacked by a wild animal, sure, that'd make sense, supernatural beings are very secretive, after all.

Nope. Not a word! Zero. Zilch. Whatever words that shorten the phrase "literally nothing" that come to mind, that's what would be used to describe the amount of concern shown for him.

Okay, so maybe he was a bit of an attention-seeker. But still.

Seems like today was just not his day.

However, his day brightened up when he saw the infamous Perverted Trio™ getting chased around by the girls of the Kendo club.

Yes, those three were a true enigma. There was absolute ALL the reasons to expel them. Yet in the months they had been here, they continued to remain enrolled.

Knowing them, they probably blackmailed someone…though if their peeping skills meant anything, they most likely couldn't pull off such a thing.

Then again, this school was the furthest thing from a normal school, so who was he to apply logic to Kuoh Academy?

...Huh? Come to think of it, he only saw two of the trio running away from the girls.

"Ooooi! Kuraima-san!"

He was brought out of his mental musings by the sound of the said third member; Issei Hyoudou.

Issei was...something, to say the least. This kid had once proclaimed word for word that he would become _the Harem King_. Trademark pending.

To this day, Kuraima wasn't sure whether or not to record this guy's antics and post it to a cringe subreddit.

Like, seriously! All this guy goes on and on about is boobs!

' _I mean, he's not wrong.'_ The student thought to himself. ' _Boobs are nice, but PLEASE just shut up!'_

"Dude! Please tell me you remember Yuuma!"

What?

Of course, who could forget about this "Yuuma?" Just last week, Issei was bragging about how he finally got something that the third-year chalked up to as "big tiddy GF."

Was she goth? He couldn't remember. Couldn't be bothered to, either.

" _We get it, Hyoudou-san!"_ Kuraima half-snapped at him. "Yes, the entire school knows, and frankly, I don't care—"

He was interrupted. "Ahah! So you do remember!"

Kuraima stared at him. A good, long, incredulous stare of disbelief and utter confusion. His social anxiety began to flare up, but he shoved it aside.

"Bro, are you high?" Hyoudou looked at him, unfamiliar with the Western terms "bro" and "high", before shrugging it off.

"No! I'm dead serious! Literally, nobody remembers Yuuma but you and me!"

"...wut?"

The Astral student needed a moment to reboot his brain while doing his best to kindly leave this degenerate presence.

He didn't know how he managed to do it, but somehow he managed to distract Issei long enough to escape.

* * *

" _Blah blah blah boobers blah blah blah…"_

 _Kuraima pointed over the pervert's shoulder._

" _Issei! Look! It's Akeno!"_

 _Predictably enough, Issei spun around, only to see a distinct lack of said fellow student._

" _You liar! What're you—" He turned to see Kuraima legging it down the school's front yard._

* * *

' _You_ _fool! You fell for the classic blunder!'_

* * *

Meanwhile, the two's interactions were being watched. Perhaps if Kuraima pointed in the other direction, he'd actually pointed towards this aforementioned "Akeno."

Akeno Himejima, along with another student known as Rias Gremory, were known as the Two Great Ladies of Kuoh for their absolute superhuman beauty.

The two were currently watching from a window on the second floor of the rundown building to the school's side. Officially, the story behind it was that the old building had too much sentimental value to be demolished and that the school budget didn't have room to fully renovate a building that they didn't really intend to use.

The two girls played a game of chess as they discussed varying topics.

"That Hyoudou…" the redhead, Rias, began as she moved one of her side's pieces. "Glad to see that he's still as lively as ever."

"Ara~ Ara~" The long-haired beauty, Akeno, giggled in a seductive tone, glancing over at the pervert in the school's front yard. Issei looked dumbly in Kuraima's direction before coming to a realization and running off after him. "It's a bit endearing~!"

"Though, something seems to be off about Kuraima-san…" A pawn was moved forward.

"Ooh, you've felt it too?"

The two were quite well aware of Kuraima. He was an American transfer student, here to live a few years in his parents' ancestral homeland.

"Sensou Kuraima, age 17. Comes from a long line of fairly strong mages, branching out from a bastard child of the leader's clan back in the late Feudal era. His magic supply is above average, if he put in some effort, he might be able to match a low-ranking Devil." A rook was moved. "However, his family did not inherit any documents of magical nature, as such, not even his grandparents are aware of their magic potential."

"Ohoho, you sure do know a lot about him~! Sizing him up for your peerage?" The buxom black-haired woman asked, moving one of her knight pieces.

"I did consider it. However, the art of magic can be mathematically intensive, and according to his reports, he just barely passed high-school math in the last few semesters. In addition to this, he's been diagnosed with ADHD amongst other mild mental disorders."

"Such a shame." Akeno cooed.

"But now, he suddenly returns after being attacked by an unknown assailant over the weekend and remembers Issei talking about Yuuma? Not to mention, that he seems to have awoken what potentially might be a Sacred Gear. A little odd, don't you think?"

The queen piece was moved.

"Very much so, buchou~! It seems like these birds weren't completely thorough in covering their tracks!"

"Come to think of it, this Nyke person...he too had the magic signature of a Sacred Gear...you don't suppose they're connected, are they?"

"Who knows~?"

* * *

Unfortunately, Kuraima just couldn't escape the presence of the infamous serial pervert. To add insult to injury, his current powerset did not include the ability to cancel out the brunette's ramblings.

"For the love of Ast— _God,_ Issei, shut up." He grumbled, not noticing Issei flinch when he said the G-word. "You're _not_ getting a harem! That's not how the world works! It's not even worth the effort!"

To Issei, what his classmate said was _Warhammer 40K_ levels of pure _heresy!_

"Oh yeah?"

Kuraima wasn't sure how they got from the subject Yuuma to the practicality and ethics of harems. But here they were.

"Yeah."

"Then prove it!"

The fight was on. Kuraima was known for being a quiet and well-behaved kid since he didn't have that many friends.

So when he challenged Issei, the people around the two started listening in.

Normally, Kuraima's ADHD would make him babble some dumb irrelevant shit, but luckily, he'd prepared for this scenario through many accumulated hours of shower thoughts and Discord conversations.

"First of all, what're the chances that you'll find someone open to the idea of being in a harem?"

That shut Issei up, but the Astral kid wasn't done just yet, not by a long shot.

"Secondly, imagine how expensive it would be! You don't even have a part-time job. Let's face it. You've got like, what, marriage expenses, bribes for the authorities so that they'll actually register your marriages, renovations…"

As Kuraima was listing off things Issei would have to pay for, he was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"Ahem ...ah, did I come in at a bad time?"

Everyone had been so caught up in the third-year's rant that nobody had even noticed that _the_ most popular male student of this school had entered the room.

Kuraima subconsciously put his hands over his ears, bracing himself as shrill shrieks of rabid fangirls pierced the air around him.

"Oh my god, it's our Prince of Kuoh™!"

"Aaaaaaaaah oh my god, he's so hot!"

"Kyaaaaaaaaah have my babies!"

' _I wanna go home, away from this anime bullshit. Why the hell did mom and dad pick this school? Everyone here acts like a stereotypical anime character. Seriously, the next school over is literally a normal-ass school. This is a weaboo's wet dream and I fucking hate it.'_

…

' _Wait, shit. Am I the main character type?'_ He began mentally listing the common main character tropes for anime and manga school settings, the existential dread from before settling back in, sloshing through his mind like a tidal wave.

' _Foreigner exchange student? Well, from a nationality standpoint...check.'_

' _Received a power from a long-dead entity from another world? Check.'_

' _Befriended the weird kid? Check, apparently.'_

' _About to be requested by one of the most popular kids in school? Nah, I'm—'_

"Hyoudou-san and Kuraima-san, could I ask the two of you to please come with me?"

' _GOD FUCKING DAMNIT.'_

…

' _Check.'_

He looked over at Issei. "This isn't over, you hear me?"

* * *

Kuraima did his best to tune out the screams of the blonde kid's fangirls as they all started being verbal about their fantasies of the beloved Prince of Kuoh™; Yuuto Kiba.

He'd often crossed paths with the fellow third-year during his time here but seldom interacted with one another save for the occasional greeting when they passed by each other in the hallway.

Which, by some miracle, had not caused rumors about the two, which was a greater display of self-control than the RWBY fandom could ever hope to achieve when it comes to shipping.

"Hey, Kiba-san?"

"Hm?"

"How do you put up with your…fangirls?"

Kiba shrugged. "You get used to it. I lost count after the 37th request to 'have my babies', as they say."

Kuraima snrk'd in amusement. Meanwhile, Issei, on the other hand, looked tense. The Perverted Trio, as well as the less...savory boys, which unfortunately made up a large portion of the male population, held great disdain for the "handsome" pretty-boys such as Kiba.

"So, uh, why do you need us, anyway?" Kuraima asked. "Ah, well, Rias-senpai requested to see the two of you."

Kuraima did a double-take.

"You mean… _The_ Rias? Like, _Great Lady of Kuoh_ Rias?" He asked.

Kiba smirked. "The one and only."

Issei visibly perked up after that, without a doubt forgetting his contempt for Kiba and now thinking lecherous thoughts.

Who could blame him? Kuraima had to admit; Rias was kind of hot.

* * *

Turns out, Rias wanted to see them inside of the somewhat shady building that had yet to be demolished.

To his surprise, it was actually decently maintained on the inside, save for the low number of lighting fixtures and...that one odd-looking door covered in that black and yellow _DO NOT ENTER_ tape.

He was rather tempted to use his wallhacks to peek inside...but then the realization that this power needed a name overpowered his curiosity.

His brainstorming was interrupted when the trio finally came upon a room that surprisingly looked somewhat luxurious, with a couple of big red velvet couches.

"Okay, this is actually pretty nice." The Astral student commented, taking a seat. Already, he felt relaxed from just sitting on the cushions.

"I see you've already made yourself at home, Kuraima-san." Kiba chuckled. "Akeno-san's making some tea, and Rias-sama will be out here to meet you shortly."

He nodded in acknowledgment and decided to think about things.

' _So, why are we here anyway?'_ He thought to himself. ' _Issei did talk about the whole Yuuma thing, so that's why he's here…so why am…'_

Wait a minute.

' _...is that the sound of running water?'_

He listened for a bit before realizing that there was, in fact, a _functioning shower_ inside of the ORC building.

The student turned to the short white-haired girl that he'd somehow failed to notice when he'd entered the room, who had a huge bowl of various candies in her lap.

Ah, Koneko. Another one of the more popular students, known for downright adorable if quiet. Also popular among the pedo— _lolicons_ in the school's roster.

"Is that what I think that is?"

"Yes." She deadpanned.

Once again, the temptation to use his…

...his…

…Hmmmm, Kuraima still needed a name for his wallhack…

' _Ooh, Third Eye_ _sounds nice..'_

"K-Kuraima-san! Your eyes are glowing! And...where'd that necklace come from?"

"Huh?" The student looked up to see that the others were enveloped in a green aura and completely visible to him in spite of whatever furniture was in the way.

Then it happened. He saw the naked, voluptuous water-soaked body of Rias Gremory.

"SHIT." He exclaimed, closing his eyes.

Nope, still there.

"Kuraima-san! Please calm down!"

* * *

A few moments later, Kuraima managed to calm down thanks to Kiba and Issei's efforts.

"What happened there, Kuraima-san?" The Prince of Kuoh asked concernedly.

"I...doubt you'd believe me."

"Oh? Is that a challenge?" A new voice said.

Kuriama looked up to see the reason for his panic standing there fully clothed.

Even in the school uniform, Kuraima found her plenty attractive.

"M-My apologies, Gremory-senpai…" He bowed forward a little, attempting to put his knowledge of Japanese culture to use.

Rias giggled. "No need for formalities nor apologies, Kuraima. As for whatever you have to tell us, well…I'd like to clear up a few things for the both of you." She said, referring to both Kuraima and Issei. "First of all, we're not exactly human ourselves."

With a collective series of _fwip_ s, the ORC members suddenly revealed batlike wings on their backs.

For some odd reason, a pair appeared on Issei too, which startled the poor kid.

"...Oh."

"Ara~ You don't seem that surprised, Kuraima-san~" The voice of Akeno cooed.

"A-Ah...well…I am...I just...I think it's the shock, y' know? I've had a rough weekend."

The Astral champion didn't like the way she reacted when he said "rough".

Rias then went into an exposition lore dump, however, Kuraima kinda zoned out, wondering what would happen if Diavolo from Jojo Part 5 fought against Coil from Worm and they both used their time-bending abilities at the same time.

What details Kuraima picked up on was that the Christian side of the supernatural world was composed of three factions; Angels, Fallen Angels, and Devils.

The three got along as well as you'd expect. There was a "Great War" that killed over most of the 72 High-Class Devil families, and eventually, they agreed upon a shaky ceasefire.

Oh yeah, and _Satan fucking died_ so now the Devils are governed by four of the most powerful, who has been dubbed as the Satan _s._

Since Devils have absurdly low contraception rates (Something which bugged Kuraima for a bit. They have _magic_ , y' know.) one of the four Satans (The original died in the war) came up with a solution: the Devil Piece system.

High-Class devils and above could form a peerage using these pieces, to reincarnate people as devils and increase their numbers.

So, what had happened was that Issei had straight-up _fucking died_ and Rias had reincarnated him.

Issei wasn't fully on board with it until Rias told him that he could rank up to a High-Class and get himself a peerage. To rank up, one had to either be summoned by humans and complete their requests (They stopped accepting souls a long time ago) or to fight in gladiatorial combat, in what was known as a Rating Game.

Kuraima didn't know whether to respect or be disgusted by pervert's dedication to privacy invasion.

Also, Issei had one of those Sacred Gears, and since his GF-revealed-to-be-Fallen Angel had killed him because of it, the pervert had a fucking high tier weapon.

Unfortunately, when he tried to activate it by imitating Goku from Dragon Ball, it appeared to be a measly "Twice Critical", whatever that means.

"Anyways, with all that cleared up…" she turned to Kuraima. "So what was the deal you had just a moment ago?"

"Oh…well...you see," He began, fiddling with the large medallion. "I kinda have one of those Sacred Gears myself. A really rare one, too."

The buxom redhead raised an eyebrow, up to the challenge. "Really? What makes you say that?"

"I'm the one who still needs to name it."

…

"Wow...that is pretty rare." Kiba offhandedly commented.

"Interesting. And that freakout…?"

"Yeah, that was me giving one of the abilities a name and accidentally triggering it."

"What did it do?"

The third-year's face blanched. "I'm gonna be real with you.."

"...It lets me see people, valuables, and even some types of traps through walls."

The gears turned in Issei's head.

" _YOU SAW RIAS NAKED TOO?"_

Kuraim buried his hands in his face and desperately craved the sweet release of death. ' _Fuck my autistic ass'_ He thought to himself.

Even worse, the red Devil seemed to take it in stride. "Well, I forgive you. Everybody makes mistakes. Though there is something else I'd like to know. You see, up until you came into school this morning, we had confirmed that you lacked a Sacred Gear. So how on earth did you suddenly get one?"

Kuraima thought for a moment. Then, he explained how he'd met the unassuming old man and helped him out after accidentally bumping into him. He told her about the dream encounter with Astrum Deus, the giant space worm.

"So through chance, you've been selected as this planet's 'Champion' of a god from another world."

Said champion shrugged. "Yeah. Told me that I can supposedly evolve this thing as I see fit. Also, whenever I develop a new power, the voice of David Attenborough gives me a summary. I've got two powers at the moment; the aforementioned wall-vision I've dubbed _[Third eye],_ and this thing called _[Blessing]_. Think like Reinforcement from the Fate series. That's how the voice described it."

Rias was busy writing this down, using a notepad she'd gotten from...somewhere.

"You said you haven't named the gear itself yet. Shall we do that right here and now?"

' _Hmm…Astrum Deus said that his name meant "The Star God" in Latin. I hope he's right because that's not what Google Translate told me…'_

"I don't know why...but...something tells me to go with…

… _ **[Stella Dominus.]"**_

…

…

…

Everyone just stared at him.

"I honestly have no idea where that came from. I don't even know Latin."

"I...I see. It's not a bad name, though."

* * *

Sometime later, Rias watched Kuraima leave the school grounds, viewing him through the clubhouse window before turning to pull some papers out of a nearby cabinet.

She'd have to file the paperwork to get him registered to the ORC, even though he'd awkwardly rejected her request to join the peerage, citing that he wasn't sure if he wanted to "Reject his humanity."

She got that reference.

However, the young devil would have to keep an eye out. New types of Sacred Gears have been appearing recently, which is very concerning as the last time a new Sacred Gear was discovered, disregarding subspecies, was several decades ago.

Hopefully, the presence of not one but _two_ devils directly related to the four Satans would keep others from trying anything sketchy in her territory.

* * *

Kuraima entered his house and immediately flopped onto his couch

Home sweet home.

He rolled over, holding _**Stella Dominus**_ into the air once more to inspect it.

"So it's me and you, huh?"

…

"It would be nice if you could talk back."

No response.

"Eh, it was worth a shot." He muttered, activating _[Third Eye]_ for no particular reason.

…

…

…

"Huh. There sure are a lot of crows out here today."

* * *

 **Kuraima's current abilities:**

 ** _Stella Dominus - This otherworldly fragment of Astrum Deus has awoken within the grasp of Kuraima Sensou. The more he uses it, the more it will evolve according to his desires._**

 ** _[Third Eye]_ \- Allows Kuraima to see living entities both friendly and otherwise, traps, and objects with high monetary value through walls or other physical obstructions. Current maximum range is about 5 meters (Roughly 16 ft)**

 ** _[Blessing]_ \- Allows Kuraima to "bless" objects, improving their overall quality. As of now, he can bless small, simple objects such as knives and increase their capabilities by 10%.**


	4. Heaven-ish and Hell-ish

**Let's address some reviews!**

 **Tax Evasion - Thank you for the glorious mental image of Yharim popping in through the kitchen window of a suburban house late at night.**

 **SoftItalic - Alright readers, can we get an F in chat for Nyke?**

 **Don't worry, he'll get better.**

 **Dominus1389 - …..oof.**

* * *

 **Note: I got a couple of reviews saying that they are _eight_ pawns in Chess, not nine. Fixed.**

* * *

 _[(PAYDAY!) Fill up your bags!]_

 _[(PAYDAY!) Empty your mags!]_

Music filled Kuraima's ears as he jogged through the town of Kuoh in the cool weekend morning air.

 _[We're on a streak, so it's (PAYDAY!) every single day of the week!]_

The song in question was _Its Payday_ by Simon Viklund. Yes, the same guy who makes the Payday 2 soundtrack.

The Astral Student didn't really play the game that much, but he absolutely loved the soundtrack. There's not really many things as hype-inducing as the build-up for when Plan B is put into motion.

Unfortunately, all things must end. _Especially_ good things. That is a truth we must come upon sooner or later.

In this case, the truth took the form of a mysterious black fabric smacking him in the face and obscuring his vision.

"Wha-?!"

He fumbled around, trying to pry the offending fabric off.

His savior came in the form of a familiar pervert; Issei Hyoudou himself.

"Oi Kuraima-san! Thanks for the save!"

Light returned to the Astral Student's eyes as his classmate removed the literal veil that had covered his face.

Kuraima quickly paused his music and pulled his earbuds out, staring at Hyoudou.

"Hyoudou-san."

"Yes?"

"Why are you with a nun?"

Standing next to Issei was an admittedly adorable-looking blonde-haired nun. She looked incredibly embarrassed, indicated by her blushing red face and apologetic tone of voice.

"Well, if you saw a lady in distress, wouldn't you help out too?"

"Well, maybe I would, but you're not the kind who should of person who should be saving them!"

"Oi! I have _standards_ when it comes to treating women!"

"Yeah well then prove it!"

"E….E-Excuse me…?"

The shy, timid voice of the nun quickly halted the hostilities as the two spun around to face her.

"P-Please stop arguing…"

Kuraima's heart, frosted by moderately inadequate socialization, melted.

' _I, Speedwa—...Sensou Kuraima shall let none harm this cinnamon bun!'_

Suddenly, the nun perked up. "O-Oh! Are you hurt?" She asked the Astral Champion, spotting a partially covered bruise peeking out from under his sleeve.

"Oh...ah...don't worry about it. I just…"

—

 **[A few days ago…]**

Everyone goes on and on about how Australia has the biggest, baddest bugs on the planet.

Clearly they've never seen any type of Asian hornet. About the size of one's thumb and venomous enough to kill a man if stung multiple times.

Right now, there was one inside Kuraima's house.

Not only was he scared of getting stung, but he also didn't want to deal with the mess this thing was gonna leave on the wall if he actually swatted it.

He watched as it sat on one of the light fixtures in the hallway, looking around with a methodical and somewhat mechanical poise.

The great beast took flight, and the student reacted.

The human body has a process known as the _Fight or Flight_ response, in which the body energizes itself with adrenaline in response to danger.

Kuraima yelped as he instinctively chose flight.

And fly he did…down a flight of stairs.

* * *

 **[Present day]**

"...Yeah, I fell out of the bed when I woke up the other day. Nothing to worry about."

"W-Wait! I can help!" She responded, getting closer to him and holding her hands out over the wound. A ring materialized on her finger, emitting a soft green glow as his bruise began to disappear.

"Woah…" Kuraima and Issei both said at the same time, mesmerized by the spectacle. He rubbed his arm, embracing himself for mild pain, only to widen his eyes when he felt absolutely nothing. All that was left was an unblemished arm.

"It's gone...wow. How'd you do that?" Issei asked her.

"A...Ah…well, it's...they called it a Sacred Gear... _ **Twilight Healing.**_ "

Kuraima vaguely remembered reading up on that after he'd requested some books on the supernatural from the Gremory Devil on a whim of curiosity. After all, his knowledge obtained from the Fate/Night series could only cover so much ground.

Basically, it was a pretty rare Sacred Gear. As the name suggests, it heals people.

That's…about all it does, but given this encounter, it does it exceptionally well. Can't heal certain diseases, but he idly wondered if it would help with the mild cramps he's been having lately.

"May we get a name?"

"O-Oh, how rude of me...It's Asia...A-Asia Argento."

—

Turns out, this nun, named Asia Argento, was in the middle of transferring to the local church.

Which was really weird, because in the three years that he lived here in Kuoh, Kuraima wasn't even aware that this town had a Christian Church, to begin with.

For good reason, too. The place had been abandoned for...who knows, maybe God actually knew how long.

"Are...are you sure you're supposed to be here, Argento-san?" Kuraima asked, feeling very concerned as he looked at the run-down building. Clearly, it had seen better days.

"Y…Yes, it is, Mister Kuraima…"

"Excuse me for just a moment.." he turned to Issei, whispering.

" _Hyoudou-san, are you sure we should be here?"_

" _Huh?"_

" _Think about it. It's a church. You're a devil. You go in there, only…only 'The-Man-Upstairs' knows what's going to happen to you, and whatever it is, everything will NOT be awesome."_

Issei kinda stared at him for a little bit as the Astral Student's movie reference flew right over his head.

" _Then what the hell are we supposed to do?!"_

" _...I have no clue…"_

"Y…You know...it's alright if you need to go…" Asia spoke up. "I...I won't hold it against you…"

"Are...are you sure?"

"Y-Yes...I can see that the two of you have places to be…"

"Ah...we ...erm…"

In the end, Kuraima and Issei had to make the heart-wrenching decision to leave her in the hands of whoever was in that church.

* * *

"W-What?!"

"You heard me, Hyoudou-san. Stay away from that nun _and_ that church."

"B-But—"

"I mean it. Even if she doesn't actively intend to harm you, she's still affiliated with the Church."

That Monday, the Occult Research Club had gathered for their afternoon meeting after school let out.

Kuraima was only paying half-attention, to the drama unfolding behind him, focusing more on playing _Fire Emblem: Three Houses_ on his Nintendo Switch.

' _Attagirl, Bernie!'_

Sure, he could tune in, but ADHD and the need to level up best girl was stronger.

Bernadetta is _the_ best archer unit. Fight me.

The warning from Rias had probably applied to him as well, but since he himself wasn't a devil, he had a bit more leeway.

Not that he'd want to try anything, mind you.

The infamous pervert eventually came over and sat down on the couch, sulking.

"Come on, cheer up, Hyoudou-san. I heard that some kind of new fantasy-themed cosplay cafe opened up downtown. Wanna go check it out?"

A few hours after dropping off Asia at the abandoned church, Kuraima had come across a rather unique-looking cafe. He assumed it was fantasy-themed because the employees were dressed up as barmaids and he was certain he saw a knight or two.

"Can't. Gremory-senpai wants me to accompany her on a Stray Devil hunt, whatever that means."

"Alright. Maybe some other time?"

' _Wait, when the hell did me and Issei become buddies?'_ Kuraima mentally asked himself. Usually, when he'd meet the pervert, it would end in snarky comments and lots of inane bickering.

…

…

…

Fuck it.

The Astral Champion couldn't be bothered to care about trivial things such as the human psyche.

"Yeah."

He wondered if Rias would let him follow them.

* * *

She allowed him.

So here they are, standing in front of some rather sketchy warehouse.

"So, Gremory-senpai, what exactly are Stray Devils?" Kuraima asked, crossing his arms.

"Good question. Put simply, Stray Devils are reincarnated devils who have either run away from or killed their masters."

"Ah…that's…so why do we gotta kill them? Can they be reasoned with?"

"Usually not, I'm afraid. You see, without the King Piece to regulate the power of the Evil Piece contained within them, they mutate horribly and develop a craving for human flesh."

Oh. So _that's_ what attacked him that fateful night.

"I mean you can try, but they're usually too mad with power to use logical thinking."

* * *

 **[Flashback to chapter 2…]**

 _An awkward pause ensued before she started screaming. "...That's. IT._ _ **I'm going to strip you down, down to your bones!**_ "

" _But I just—"_

" _ **SHUT UUUUUP! HOW DARE YOU BRING LOGIC INTO THE EQUATION!"**_

* * *

 **[Present day]**

"...Yeah, I see your point. Excuse my language, but fucking hell, that kinda sucks for all parties involved, doesn't it?"

The redheaded devil giggled as his choice of words. "You don't have to ask, we're friends, y'know? You _did_ drop a loud s-bomb the other day. Also, you can drop the whole "Gremory-Senpai" thing. And yes, you're right."

"Ah, sure thing, Rias-sama."

' _Holy shit I just got on a first-name basis with one of the most popular girls in my school.'_

…

' _Please don't tell me I'm the main character of a romance story.'_

"...So wait, runaways count as stray devils? How does that work?"

The Gremory shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not too sure of the specific details. What I do know is that the majority of Devil society doesn't really care, to them's a stray's a stray."

' _...I actually kinda feel bad for the worm thot now.'_

"Lemme guess, Devil society like the US Congress; Full of old men who can't get shit done?"

"That's...that's shockingly accurate, actually."

"It's here," Koneko called out. Immediately, Rias took on a more authoritative stance, her tone of voice changing.

"Alright! Everyone, be on your guard."

Kuraima blinked a few times when he heard the sound of something moving inside the warehouse. Always had to be warehouses...

Oh _god, the smell!_ Whatever was causing it, it was rancid! No wonder Koneko knew it was here.

"Oh? I smell something bad, but also I smell something tasty. Is it something sweet, or shall it be something sour?"

A person peeked around the corner. It was a woman with naked breasts.

"Nice…!" Issei called out, excited by a pair of well-sized bahonkeroos on display before him.

However, Kuraima, while he admittedly kinda liked what he saw thus far, knew better since he's encountered a stray himself.

' _Wait for it…'_

"Oh, you will **all make for a tasty meal!** "

A centaur-like body emerged, the front...legs...arms...whatever they were...dragging it forward. Said front arms had red human-like hands with equally red claws that seemed to blend in perfectly.

Located the horse half's abdomen, a grinning maw of jagged teeth.

"Oh god oh FUCK"

' _Aaaaaand there it is.'_

The Astral champion inspected this monstrosity up and down.

Ah...hmm…..

You know, maybe the worm thot was at least worth a 3, maybe 4, compared to this thing.

"Stray Devil Viser, you are hereby to be executed for your crimes. Surrender now, and I'll make sure your death is quick one."

" **Like hell, I will, you red-haired little shit!"**

"So be it." She turned to Kuraima and Issei. "Pay attention, for now, I shall show you the power of the Evil Piece system." She turned back to her peerage. "Kiba! You're up first!"

"Got it." The Prince leaped forward, prompting Viser to attack. She pulled a pair of spears from...somewhere and stabbed as him.

However, the Prince was much faster than she expected, causing the spears to pierce through the hardened concrete, leaving one to imagine how badly it would fuck up your day if she hit you.

"H-He teleported!" The pervert cried out in shock. Kuraima had to spend a few moments to comprehend what he just saw.

"Not really. Kiba was reincarnated as a _Knight._ When it comes to speed, few can match such a class. It'd only make sense that he'd be my Knight, given his skill with a sword."

Ah, of course. The speedy swordsman stereotype.

As Viser moved for another strike, Kiba swung his blade. Were it not for the brief glint of steel, one might've thought that the stray's arms just popped off.

" **GRAAAAGH!"**

"Good work, Kiba. Koneko, you're up!"

The Prince pulled back as the short white-haired girl casually walked up to the behemoth.

" **Are you brats even taking me seriously?!"** Viser cried out, opening her stomach-mouth. " **Maybe this will teach you a lesson!"**

 _Chomp._

"Koneko-saaan!" Issei cried out. The Astral Student had to admit that even he was a little worried, but Rias' expression told him otherwise.

"Don't worry. She can take it." As if on cue, Viser's massive jaw was forced open by the pipsqueak.

" **W-What?!"**

"As a _Rook,_ Koneko can take a lot of punishment and dish it out just as hard."

The little Rook turned around and punched the Stray in the abdomen, causing the oversized beast to be sent flying a fair distance into some empty crates, shattering them.

"You...you didn't rehearse this, did you? You seem awfully and rightfully confident of your Peerage's strength."

"..."

Did Rias just pout a little?

"Hey, just askin'! You're very...erm…"

"Passionate!" Issei finished.

"Yes, as much as I hate to say it...thank you, Hyoudou-san."

"A-Anways...Akeno-san, show them the power of the Queen!"

As the stray attempted to get back up, the buxom devil waltzed right up to it.

" _Ara ara_ , going somewhere?"

"As a _Queen_ , Akeno holds the power of a Rook, the speed of a Knight, and the magical prowess of a _Bishop,_ of which I am unfortunately unable to demonstrate tonight due to circumstances."

Lightning crackled around her arms before she launched it right at Viser, causing the abomination to writhe and scream.

"Oh Astrum oh fuck, she's a sadist."

The two boys watched in varying degrees of abject horror as one of the ' _Two Great Onee-chans of Kuoh™'_ giggled while torturing a literal hellspawn.

Finally, the show ended, with Viser collapsed on the ground, charred and smoking, but still alive.

"Now, before I finish you off…" Rias walked forward, a bright red ball of pure, unadulterated destruction forming in her outstretched hand. "Any last words?"

' _Holy shit, did Rias just take a level in badass?'_

" _Greeaagah…just end me…"_

"Hmph. As you wish." She fired off a single shot of her magic, completely annihilating Viser.

Silence reigned as the dust settled.

"That was fucking awesome."

"What piece am I, Rias-sama?!" Issei asked, eager to know where he stood.

Rias chuckled. "You're the _Pawn,_ Hyoudou-san."

The pervert's enthusiasm dropped harder than Projared's Youtube career, causing Kuraima to chuckle at his misfortune.

"Cheer up, Hyoudou-san." Rias comforted him. "Pawns are more powerful than you think. After all, you took up all _eight_ of my Pawn pieces."

"Huh? What does that mean?"

"It means that you've got great potential, Ise."

"R-Really!?"

Kuraima had to admit, it was actually a bit heartwarming to watch the redhead giving him some motivation.

Rias turned around to address her peerage. "Alright, now it's time to clean up this place and hide any evidence of supernatural activity."

As the group went around, cleaning up various animal skeletons Viser had stripped clean (Luckily she didn't have enough time to settle in and hunt humans), Kuraima came upon a curious set of glowing vials filled with a vicious green liquid.

"Huh. Gross, but kinda cool, I guess…"

He picked one up, wiggling it to slosh the fluid around.

"Viser was supposedly able shoot acid from her breasts." The white-haired little Devil spoke up from behind him.

…

…

…

"Oh. That's...that's actually...I'm just gonna put this back now."

' _...is this Greek Mythology? If it ain't Deviantart then it's probably the Greeks.'_

—

 **[Later that evening...]**

"Ha!"

Kuraima was busy training in his backyard to improve his combat skills. After what he's seen and been through, he _needed_ to get stronger.

His knife, enchanted by a blessing, pierced through a humanoid sandbag, causing sand to spill forth from the tear.

He'd managed to improve his **[Blessing]** to the point where, mathematically speaking, he could improve an object's capabilities up to **16%.** It's not much, but the difference could mean life or death. He could also now confer blessing on slightly more complex objects, such as the multiple segments of the retractable baton he'd bought and was currently using to bash the sand-dummy's head in.

After a while, the Astral champion sat down on the porch step to cool off and drink whatever off brand Gatorade he'd bought.

Honestly it was really fuckin' delicious.

As the third-year pulled the bottle away, he looked up at the practice dummy, and…

* * *

Found himself in the mid-day desert.

' _Nani the fuck.'_

No matter how much he wanted to speak up with his amatuer linguistics joke, his mouth wouldn't open nor would his body respond to his surprise.

" _Heh,"_ 'Kuraima' said. His own body was moving _and_ talking against his will. How utterly de-FUCKING-lightful. He was tempted to add another f-bomb to that word, but it just wouldn't roll off the tongue quite as well.

" _I have trained for this day! A challenge to prove my worth! If I fail, then please, by the name of Astrum Deus, be it in a blaze of glory!"_

His body reached to the side, drawing a rather beautiful katana.

' _A katana. Geez, talk about super fucking generic. This guy must be a huge fucking weaboo. But hey, a Ninjato! That's a type of katana you don't see too much of in anime shows!'_ Kuraima thought, the irony of his latter statement a bit lost on him.

…

…

…

' _...I want that sword so I can put it up on my wall. Maybe as a trophy.'_

His eyes glanced over at the sword. Huh. So his eyes still had control, which was pretty unsettling, to say the least, but he shrugged it off for now.

A shiny, steel-gray blade with a golden guard and a nice velvet-colored grip.

 _[Blade of the Slime King]_

Huh. Interesting.

" _Great Scourge, reveal yourself to me!"_

Suddenly, the ground began to rumble. Kuraima mentally screamed at "himself" to bail, but his body stood his ground, holding the blade at the ready.

A sandstorm picked up as the smooth desert dunes all but burst, revealing a massive behemoth of a worm.

 _[Desert Scourge]_

Hoo boy.

As "Kuraima" charged forward, blade in hand, the Desert Scourge plunged down at "him", maw wide open and hungry for an appetizer.

To the real Kuraima, it all became a blur.

" _w…..r…"_

 **SLASH!**

" _wat...r"_

 **GROAAAAAAR!**

* * *

"Water…!"

Kuraima suddenly snapped out of his weird delusion, feeling something scrap against his ankles.

It was the fucking Worm Thot, parched, malnourished, and ultimately at his mercy.

"Please…" She coughed, her voice dry as could be, "...H...help."

Kuraima thought for a while.

" _...They can't be reasoned with…"_ Rias' voice replayed in his mind.

And so, the Astral Student drew his blade, and down came his blade upon the flesh…

…

…

...

* * *

...the flesh of dinner, of course!

Kuraima might've been a master of instant noodles— a skill which may serve quite nicely in college— but he knew how to cook up a decent fish meal.

So here he was, sitting here, eating a nice dinner with someone who had literally attempted to murder him a week ago with the intention of cannibalizing his corpse.

You didn't really think he had the balls to finish the job, did you?

Well, he didn't. He hasn't reached that character arc yet.

She honestly just looked so pitiful, crawling on the ground while clutching her stomach where he'd stabbed her during their previous encounter.

So after getting her cleaned up and bandaged up, he decided to shower his wimp-induced mercy upon her.

"So how is it?" He asked her, still wary that he was in the presence of a killer.

"So good ...thank you…" She said in-between bites.

Kuraima couldn't help but smile a little.

Truth be told, once she had that bath, she didn't look all that bad. The dried padding of flakey...chitin…(?), had washed right off, revealing a layer of clean, slightly sunbaked skin.

With this new development, she was most definitely a 5.8/10.

Why a 5.8? He was still a bit grossed out by the whole "body was full of parasitic worms" thing.

The student still wasn't sure if Sakura Matou had it worse.

…..Okay. Maybe her weird teeth warranted a 5.5/10.

Kuraima shrugged that train of thought away.

"So, is there any reason why you're not trying to kill me?"

The gal looked up at him. "W ...Well...I...you...spared my life when I tried to take yours…"

"...Aight, fair enough."

"W-Wait, that's it?! You're just gonna forgive me, just like that?!"

"Heh, I dunno. That was the first time I had someone actively trying to kill me. Hell, I still feel dead inside for killing your buddy…"

Don't think about it.

Don't think about how you watched the life fade from his eyes as you pierced his abdomen with your combat knife, the enemy coughing up the last of his lifeblood.

Don't think about the rush of adrenaline you felt upon ending another person's life—

"Eh, that guy was a bit of a dick to be honest."

They both laughed. Guilt abruptly absolved!

"Heh. Say, need to crash here for the night?"

"I suppose I shall, given the circumstances."

"Eh, alright. I got a spare bedroom that I don't really use. Might be dusty, though."

"Doesn't bother me a bit, honestly!"

And so Kuraima had a new housemate.

* * *

 **[Kuraima's dreamscape]**

That night, when Kuraima went to sleep, he found himself back in that desert, spectating that weeb guy's point of view.

He felt the sting of "his" wounds as he sat atop the carcasses of the massive Desert Scourges.

Why the hell was he having these visions _now_ of all times? A little late for that, don't you think? The whole fiasco was like what, about a week ago?

" _Hey!"_ A voice called out. " _Not bad, kiddo!"_ Kuraima looked over at the source of the voice; a rather orthodox-looking man. Well, normal-looking save for his obviously strange eyes that seemed oddly bright with equally bright coloration.

He wanted to say that they were...pixelated, in a way? Weird.

" _Ah, sensei!"_ His body moved to get up and bow before the newcomer. " _I have completed the task that you have bestowed upon me!"_

The strange man looked around, seeing the corpses of not one but _three_ worms.

" _Wait, you took down three Scourges?"_

" _It was a tough battle, sensei!"_

" _...I see. Looks like you've got what it takes to become Terraria's Astral Champion after all."_

" _You really believe so?"_

" _Heh, I know so, buddy. Also, please drop the whole sensei thing. Clearly, Alizarin's let you watch one too many of those Asian cartoons."_

" _With all due respect, sir, they're not cartoons, they—"_

" _That they're a way of life for the most cultured of men? Yeah yeah, whatever. That big red hairball said those exact same words. Besides, I'm just messin' with ya."_

" _By the way, big red's father-in-law wanted you to have this." The man pulled out a glowing orb, which ominously trailed with otherworldly magics._

 _ **[The Desert Scourge...truly, a beast born of the consequences.]**_ Spoke a voice from the sphere, causing it to pulsate. _**[Perhaps if I had not acted so rashly, there'd be a kingdom still thriving here. However, there is no use in dwelling on the past.]**_

A moment of silence.

 _ **[Still, for you to go as far and clean my dirty work in exchange for nothing of monetary value...truly, you are a strange one. If you so wish to prove yourself, then the two of you have a tough and arduous journey ahead. But I believe in you, young champion.]**_

" _I wouldn't have it any other way. With the Solar Apostle to guide me, no task shall be above me! Dare I say, I shall be Over Heaven!"_

" _Heh, now you're just spouting references. Come on, let's go get lunch."_

Kuraima was really, really confused as to what the hell was going on.

But he knew a Jojo reference when heard one, so at least he had that going for him.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

 **Allow me to say this before you ask…**

 **Highschool DxD is a harem anime and that's a fact.**

 **Facts don't care about Kuraima's feelings.**

 **But no, Kuraima will not frick the Scourge.**


	5. Chapter 5

_Beep beep! Beep beep!_

"uugh"

Kuraima groaned as his alarm clock went off.

He didn't feel so good this fine morning. Why, you may ask?

Stomach cramps.

Over the last few days, these cramps had slowly gotten a bit worse.

' _Fuck it…'_ He thought, using what limited morning semi-consciousness he had at the moment. ' _If this doesn't clear up soon, I'll seek a doctor.'_

* * *

After a long and arduous day of school and abdominal pains, Kuraima flopped down onto one of the couches in the ORC club room.

"Whew, finally ...Tuesday classes are over."

His stomach cramps had gone away as well, though he knew they'd be back when he least expected it.

So in the meantime, he'd enjoy this period of bliss while could.

…

…

…

"Ah…I left my Switch at home."

Hmm…

Let's see, there weren't any immediate after-school meetings, so he didn't really have a reason to stick around until later when the local Devils started doing their contract works.

Even then he didn't have much of a reason.

Then he remembered when he'd invited Issei to join him on a trip to that fantasy cosplay cafe that recently opened up.

…Fuck it, he had nothing better to do.

* * *

Some time later, the Astral Student came upon said cafe.

The storefront looked pretty normal, with signs reading the following:

 _Moonlit Fantasy Cafe and Musicals_

 _All are welcome to rest and share thy tales!_

However, once he stepped inside, the atmosphere felt like that of an entirely different world. He was almost certain there was a way to make an isekai joke from that previous statement...he just couldn't think of one at the moment.

It resembled every stock Tolkien fantasy/Dungeons & Dragons tavern ever, with (artificially) dated wooden floor boarding and tables. Drinks were served in traditional glasses, but apparently could be served in mugs as well.

In the back was a raised platform stage, clearly one where a bard was meant to play songs, though no one was there at the moment.

There were people here dressed as adventurers and loitering around. A group in the leftmost-side of the dining area headed towards a flight of stairs, labeled ' _Game Room Above_ ' in both Japanese and somewhat broken English, presumably going up to play some tabletop fantasy games.

Of course, there were normal people here too, such as few that Kuraima recognized as other Kuoh students, and even a few foreigners.

"Oi, Kuraima!" He heard a familiar voice. The Astral Champion looked over at the corner table to see the familiar face that matched it.

"Ayyy, Nyke-san!"

The two greeted each other with the universal sign of bromance; the fistbump.

"How're ya doing, Nyke-san? Haven't seen you since we fought that Scourge!"

"Been a little rough, bro. Things are looking for me though. Finally, I got a job, if you can call it that. The boss's a little eccentric, a bit of a womanizer, and he's got really weird subordinates but he's a really good guy at heart. Plus he pays really well and completely ignored my criminal record."

"So that means…"

"That's right; I have retired from a life of crime! Well, sorta. Boss has us do some sketchy shit every now and then but like I said, the pay's decent."

"Hah! That's good to know." Kuraima turned away to address the waitress with their menus. Seems like Nyke hasn't had his meal yet.

The waitress in question had dulled silver hair— a hair color usually reserved for main characters or edgelords— and was dressed up as an old-timey barmaid.

As she handed him his menu, his eyes met hers. For the student, it was really only just a brief moment as his social anxiety caused him to immediately avert his gaze.

When he felt that she still had a firm grasp on the menu, he looked back up at her. Her freckled cheeks were tinged a faint pink, staring at him intensely.

"Uhm ...miss? Can I help you?"

The waitress snapped out of her stupor. Hold on, wasn't it the guy who was supposed to blank out…?

"A-Ah! Please f-forgive me! I'm s-still new to this job…!"

' _Hold up. Meeting two shy cuties in the span of less than a week? I'm not sure where this is going and I'm not sure if I wanna know.'_

"Ah, um...don't worry about it. I'm not good with strangers either." He glanced at Nyke. "Well, usually not, I guess?"

He thought for a moment. "Now that I think about it, being friends with one of the most popular girls in my school makes it a lot easier…"

"What, are you saying she's not pretty?"

The Astral Student's focus locked onto his friend as the young male sputtered. "What? No! How does popularity relate to prettiness?! Besides, she's t-totally my type a-and…!"

"You ...you really think of me that…w-way?" She gasped, seemingly as if she'd never received an iota of appreciation in her life.

"Yes! Wait— Well, I mean, you're…attractive, yes...b-but…argh!"

' _Nyke, you fucking son of a bitch!'_ Kuraima's mind screamed as it continued to spam the metaphorical reset button, to no avail.

"Ah...um….orders! Yes!" He interjected, trying to defuse the situation. "I'll take the...uuuuuuuuh...hm...I'll take the _Cream-filled Cosmic Puffs_ with a mug of Root Beer— specifically the _Barq_ 's brand."

"A-Ah, I see."

She took the two's orders and finally left them alone.

"What the fuck was that, Nyke-san?!"

"I come here for lunch every day my man, and I gotta say, I don't think I've seen her stare at someone for so long— had her eyes on you the moment you walked in the door. Safe to say that you caught a pretty lady's eye, Kuraima."

"Whu-?! Wha-?! What even…?!"

Nyke just laughed at his expense. "Hey man, I still owe ya for the whole Scourge thing. I don't think any set number of favors are ever gonna repay you for saving my ass."

Kuraima faceplanted the table in defeat.

"Hey, lighten up, bro. You gotta admire the atmosphere this place has! Hell, this place actually has a bit of fantasy lore to it. Something about a lunar god. The owner has a few self-published books about it— Really well-written ones, too."

"Ugh...I guess ...hey, whatever happened to your hand?"

"Ah, they had to amputate it. But hey, check it out!" He brought his arm up to reveal a mechanical replacement. "Boss bought it for me. It works like a charm. Think he might be trying to spoil me rotten, though."

"That sounds a little gay when you put it like that."

"Oi! You know what I mean!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

The two continued to talk about various subjects until the waitress returned with their food.

"T-Thank you, miss." The student thanked her, trying not to look her in the eye after their previous encounter.

As they began to dig in, a man walked out onto the stage. Whoever he was, he seemed like he might be pretty important as everyone immediately quieted down.

"Oh, here comes the _good part_ ," Nyke whispered. _"You see, they do mini-concerts. Or musicals. Not sure what they call 'em."_

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience! For this afternoon's show, we have the second act of this week's storyline; _Halcyon and the Symphony of the Sky_! But boy, do I have a surprise for all of you! Today, a fan favorite makes her return as a guest! Everyone, let us give my dear cousin Jenny Hallows a warm welcome!"

Kuraima spat out his drink, spraying Nyke with a sugary mess. "N-No freaking way! _The_ Jenny Hallows?! Like, _World Adventures of Ren_ Jenny Hallows?!"

As the crowd cheered, a brunette walked out on stage, wearing a relatively modest yet appealing bardic costume. In her hands, she carried a fiddle, a common bard instrument.

"Who now?" Nyke asked, tilting his head.

"What kind of rock have you been living under?! _World Adventures of Ren_ is one of the best cartoon series ever made!"

The lights dimmed as Jenny began to strum her instrument of choice.

 _Come here now O' Weary Traveler,_

 _Rest now for perhaps a moment,_

 _And hear the tale that I have to offer,_

' _Tis that of a hero of which you may know by name._

"You mean that kids cartoon show? You know how I am, dude— Too old for that kinda stuff."

Kuraima put a hand up. "They say kids, but to be honest some of the themes in that show are _waaaaay_ too philosophical for kids to understand. At least, I think it is. Dunno, I grew up thinking that kids were really, REALLY fucking stupid, due to personal experience as the stupid kid. But no, it turns out I was actually autistic the whole time. It felt weird being in 5th grade and realizing the third-grader playing on his 3Ds next to me had a better ability to comprehend Pokemon mechanics than I did at the same age."

…

"But hey, I just watch it because Ren's sidekick is a living meme."

 _A strapping young man,_

 _Known by the name of Halcyone,_

 _Blessed by the Heavens,_

 _He sought to bring the world together as one._

"I'm telling you, it's worth the watch just for Mr. Bone's antics alone and—" The Astral Student paused. "...is that bird looking at me?"

Outside the window, a large round and fluffy-looking pigeon-like bird sat on the storefront, staring in through the window, more specifically staring dead-on at Kuraima.

Nyke turned around to look at it, before shrugging. "Eh," He shrugged. "Don't worry about it. It stared at me all the time when I came here."

Kuraima shrugged.

God, he just wanted to grab that bird and fucking SNUGGLE the shit out of it because GOD DAMN that thing looked soft.

 _Under the guidance of the Lord of Sun,_

 _The young one was given a new goal._

" _Young Blessed One, I have a task for thee,_

 _Head to the mountains of the Harpy Queen._

 _I'd do it myself, but frankly,_

 _There wouldn't be much left to see."_

Kuraima kinda ran out of things to talk about, so he focused on eating the pastries sitting before him.

' _Not bad.'_ He thought as he bit into the bright orange one. It certainly...tasted like an orange, to say the least. A little too strong for him, but he sucked it up and continued to munch.

Before he knew it, he found his hand empty and a distant feeling of sadness that there was none left.

But hey, there were still three more flavors to try.

He allowed himself to be lost in the music as he absentmindedly ate the rest of his meal.

* * *

A few hours passed, and Kuraima found himself feeling quite satisfied with both his lunch and the show.

After paying for his meal, he strolled down the sidewalk towards home with a bit of extra spring in his step.

Just then, a familiar face appeared. "Oi, Kuraima!"

' _Oh no, it's Issei.'_ The pervert in question was parking his bike, resting it against the wall of an alleyway.

"Oh...hey, Hyoudou-san. You on Devil Duty?"

"Yeah, the usual…"

Modern-day Devil Contracts were...interesting, to say the least. Instead of selling your soul— an entirely outdated method— you just gave Devils valuables or other material objects in exchange for their services.

Thing is, while Issei had excellent reviews...he never actually made a single contract, and thus never got rewarded. And that's a problem because making contracts was one of the primary ways to rank up in the Devil social hierarchy.

To add insult to injury, Issei was _so fucking weak_ that he couldn't even use the magic teleportation circles that "even a toddler could use." Hence, the bike.

"I got nothin' better to do and I don't feel like playing Miner's Haven on _ROBLOX_ for the rest of the evening. Mind if I join?"

"Eh, sure, whatever." The pervert shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Kuraima followed his fellow student into the alleyway, where the reincarnated Devil knocked on the door.

No response.

However, the door was cracked open just a teensy bit.

"Huh? What the heck is this…?" Issei scratched his head. One could only imagine the mental Olympics going through his head...

"Dude, did you just get fucking butt-dialed by _magic?_ "

"I mean, maybe? Hold on, what if something's gone horribly wrong?"

"I slowly opened the door…" Kuraima quoted.

"Oi, don't joke around like that!"

"I took the chance, and I took it."

As the reincarnated Devil opened the door, the two walked inside.

"Yoooohoo! Your mail-ordered Devil has arrived…!"

No response.

"Okay, what the hell is going on? And what's that smell?" The pervert complained, causing Kuraima to take a whiff.

"I know, right? It smells ...like...like blood..."

The two looked at each other, their minds in perfect sync.

' _Oh fuck.'_

The two summoned their Sacred Gears, proceeding cautiously into the living room.

And nearly shat themselves.

Issei's would-be summoner was dead on the couch, with a very large knife in his chest.

Painted on the wall was the words ' _DEATH TO THE SINNERS'._

"Do you like it?" A man asked, walking towards the two from the shadows. "I feel like I had something much deeper and thought-provoking, but I realized I wasn't gonna have enough blood to pull it off. Still, it really adds a nice, murderous—"

" **HHHUUUUUUUUAAAAARRRRHHH!"** Kuraima promptly roared as he keeled over and fucking emptied his stomach of everything it held within.

"Dude, _dude!_ Not cool! I had a cool intro and everything planned out! Instead, you had to walk right up and _barf_ on my handiwork!"

"S...Sorry...I…"

"Ugh! To hell with it! You! Devil! Just move mister crayon-puke aside and let's get to the part where we fight!"

Issei was rather confused and alarmed, as he shoved Kuraima onto the couch.

"Alright, good enough! Name's Freed Sellzan, yadda yadda. Now, die you shitty Devil!" The Priestly(?) man shouted, aiming a fucking _gun_ at Issei and firing.

"Gah!" The pervert yelped, diving to the side to avoid the bright yellow tracer rounds. "No fair!"

"All's fair in love and war, you shitty Devil!"

"The hell did I even do?!"

The man drew a lightsaber and swung, slicing through a vase without shattering it. "That's easy! You're a Devil, I'm a man of God! Just like oil and water! And this sinner sitting on the couch next to vomit comet is a filthy devil-worshipper! Can you believe it?! He wanted to summon a devil because he couldn't be bothered to cook his own dinner! Now that's just totally wacky AND heretical!"

Freed pranced about, dodging Issei's punches.

"Come on, activate!"

" _ **Boosto!"**_ The perv's gauntlet announced in a rather...not so flashy method. Issei felt the power flow through him, and he kept pushing against the madman's defenses.

"Heh, a _**[Twice Critical]**_? Fought plenty of those before. They're a dime a dozen, I tell ya! They say that there's always at least one or two in every small city!"

The two were at a standstill, dancing around each other in varying degrees of skill. Issei kinda just stumbled around while Freed cut shit up and threw bullets in the pervert's general direction.

Even when a bullet whizzed by his head and cut off a lock of his hair accompanied by the fact that his friend(?) was currently fighting for his fucking life, Kuraima was in a daze after having lost his lunch, both figurative and literally.

Freed lashed out at Issei, kicking him in the stomach and sending him spiraling to the ground. "I'm getting tired, you weak-ass lil' shit! How about actually being worth the effort?"

He moved in to finish off the reincarnated Devil only for someone to step in!

"P-Please stop, Mister Freed!" Asia yelled, stepping in between predator and prey.

"A-Asia?!"

"Move it, Nunny girl! That there kid's a devil! The antithesis of our kind!"

A rather long pause of silence ensued.

Oh yeah, that's right. Asia wasn't aware of Issei's current state.

She shook her head. "B-But Hyoudou-san could never be a devil! H...He's too nice a person!"

"But that's where they get ya! Devils are tricky little fucks! Of course, I'm a man of god, so I get a free pass!"

"Mister Freed…."

Freed then sighed. "Look, nun! You don't want to get caught up with the likes of him again! Remember what happened last time?!"

"Ah...I…."

"Wh...What are you talking about?" Issei asked as he tried to push himself up off the ground, his legs trembling as he forced himself to stand.

"Oh, you didn't know? That's okay, you haven't progressed through her story that far, so I'll spoil it for you!"

"You see, little Asia was abandoned by her parents! A real shame! So the Church took her in and raised her. Turns out, she was blessed by God with her sacred schemacred gear thingy!"

"They revered her as a Holy Maiden™! But then one day a sneaky Devil pretended to be hurt! The naive little maiden healed him, and the Church realized that her so-called "blessing" was a totally indiscriminate sham! So they kicked her out, just to save face— and faith!"

"Grrr...shut up, you bastard!" Issei shouted at him, taking a step towards the ex-priest.

Freed just laughed at him. "Hah!" The madman grabbed Asia, wrapping one arm around her neck and using the other to hold his gun to her temple. "Just try it, you shitty hellspawn! You make one wrong move, I'll blow her brains out!"

The pervert found himself unable to move. No, he wouldn't…!

"Oooh, once I finish off the shitty devil, I might have a little fun~" The madman taunted, using the barrel of the gun to jiggle Asia's sizeable rack.

"Ggh...get your hands off of Asia-san...!"

"How about no?"

However, Freed was so focused on Issei that he'd forgotten a rather important detail.

And that detail was Kuraima.

The student in question was walking towards Freed's backside, a scowl on his face and a blade in hand.

He raised the weapon, an aura of red enveloping his body.

" _ **WWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"**_

The machete _slammed_ into Freed's gun arm like an axe into wood, causing it to go limp and forcing him to drop his weapon and his hostage.

"GraaaaaaaAAAAAAAH! What the fuck?! Where the fuck did you…?!" Freed's eyes wandered for the answer, and he found it.

The dead body no longer had a blade impaled upon it.

"Yo ...You seriously did not just do what I think you did!"

"So what if I did?" Kuraima retorted. "I don't always think my actions through. My mind's actually clouded by an intense rage that I can't really comprehend right now, but at least David Attenborough's voice is here to give me a brief mental summary."

* * *

 **[Rage]**

 _A strange thing, really. While not a power directly related to Astrum Deus, it's one that many individuals from the god's former home were able to harness. Perhaps_ _ **[Stella Dominus]**_ _changes the user just as the user evolves the Sacred Gear?_

 _Rage is built up through powerful emotion, through melee combat, or from taking damage._

 _Rage, when activated, increases the user's combat capabilities immensely. However, as the name suggests, using Rage fills the user with incredible anger and even arrogance. Strong emotions are one of the primary catalysts for Sacred Gear evolution and/or mutation._

 _Use this power sparingly._

 _ **Adrenaline**_

 _Adrenaline is a similar power to Rage. While naturally occurring in all life forms, this ability will allow Kuraima to take it to a whole new level. This form is separate from what is in the human body, taking the form of magical energy._

 _Adrenaline has the same abilities as Rage, however, it's built up through being in life-or-death situations or being present near an enemy that stands a strong chance of defeating Kuraima, also known as a "Boss Enemy."_

 _The longer Kuraima goes without taking damage, the faster he will gain Adrenaline._

* * *

With its new powers, **[Stella Dominus]** had modified its appearance. Now it sported two small gemstones on either side of the main central orb. One, a bright orange, glowing with vengeful anger. The other, a dim blue-ish green color.

Kuraima yanked the bloody machete out of the mad exorcist's arm, throwing the madman to the ground and glaring at him with a stare that promised pain, and nothing more.

" _The spanking of your ass shall be thorough and merciless."_

Kuraima brought the bloody machete down upon Freed, only for the exorcist to roll out of the way. The blade hit the hardwood floor, leaving a gnarly gash when he pulled it back up.

' _If that hits me, I'm done for!'_ Freed thought to himself, panicking internally. He drew his lightsaber as he got up off the ground, and moved to make his counterattack.

The two blades met, and so the two very different definitions of "madmen" looked at each other in the eyes.

"The fuck is your problem?! Are you really THAT worked up by some little sob story? Like, Jesus Christ, kiddo!"

"People like you are the reason why Reddit-using neckbeards convert to atheism."

"W-Whoa there pal! That's edgy!"

Out of the darkness, came a modulated voice. " **Huh, Freed. Can you really not handle two highschoolers? Pathetic."**

"S-Shut up!"

" **Let me handle this."**

Kuraima felt something grab his school uniform by the collar and yeet his ass across the room, where he slammed into Issei.

As the dust settles, a hand made of stone plates with joints made of an unknown glowing blue material made its way back to the cloaked figure's robes.

"Agh!" The Astral Student winced, his mind clearing itself of the fog of anger. "Issei, get your hand off my ass or I swear to Go-...Astrum that I will beat yours."

…

…

…

"Either way, no homo."

"Hey! I totally had him!"

" **Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that, ya' fucking twat. We're leaving."**

Freed sighed in defeat. "Ugh, fine." He turned to the two students. "This isn't over!"

The exorcist ran out the door, nearly slipping in Kuraima's puke puddle in the process.

" **I'll be taking the Holy Maiden now."** The figure said, looking over at the two students."

Issei got angry, shoving Kuraima aside to stand up. "Why...you bastard…!"

" **Tomorrow night, at the abandoned church."**

"...Huh?"

" **That's as long as I can hold off the ritual for. That is when you can save Asia, ya hear?"**

"Wait, what the hell? Why are you telling us this?"

" **That's because it will be your last chance to even see her. There's only so much I can do against four Fallen Angels. Even now, they're on their way."**

The two students looked at each other.

" **Look, none of this was meant to happen. The Hyoudou kid wasn't even supposed to die. The order was to observe him because of his Sacred Gear."**

"You mean…?!"

" **That's right. Something funny's going on around here."**

The distant sound of wings flapping could be heard.

" **...That's your cue to leave. But I promise you, on my honor as a human being, Asia will be safe in my hands."**

The threat of enemy reinforcements was enough to send the two students packing.

"Uwa...w-who are you…?" Asia sniffled, looking up at the cloaked figure.

" **Don't worry about it. But for now, just call me Noxus."**

* * *

The Desert Scourge crossed her arms, leaning against the couch where Kuraima was sulking. "What's the matter, Astrum boy?"

"I...I've roped myself into a situation that's spiraled horribly out of control."

"Ohoh? You have?" She took a seat next to him, holding a steaming hot bowl full of 5-minute rice that was absurdly oversalted. "Please, do tell me about it."

The Astral student then proceeded to vent about the downs of today's events. From his stomach cramps to meeting with Freed and the mysterious interloper.

"I nearly chopped that fucker's arm off. And you know the worst part? _I didn't feel a thing._ I'm ...I'm actually kinda scared, y'know? I'm starting to not...feel like myself. I've gotten caught up in a border dispute between two supernatural factions and...ugh, I feel like my social anxiety just got back from vacation."

The Scourge smirked. "Heh, really?" She leaned over, putting a thin wiry arm over his shoulder. "Listen, wormy. Before last night, I was in a much, much worse position than you. Nothing more than the urge to eat human flesh. When you went on that tangent about how human meat wasn't sustainable diet, my mind kinda just...crashed, you know?"

"Oh, ' _Kinda'_ , huh?"

"Heh, you got me there~. Okay, fine. I got straight up mindfucked. But that's besides the point. I can't really blame you, this Sellzan guy had it coming. So did my little goon friend whom you stabbed to death."

"Oh, we still going on about that?"

"Might as well make a running gag about it. The human mind is a weird thing, isn't it? Able to make light of horrendous tragedies. Then again, I'm not really in a position to be giving you some serious mental help advice. But I what I can say is that you'll just have to get better. Nip the problem in the bud and learn how to control this new ability you've unlocked before you can turn it against the wrong person."

"Hah ...I guess you're right. I really needed the pep talk."

"Attaboy! Now, if that guy's testimony was true, then you've got a maiden to save tomorrow. Buckle up, Kuraima-san. Things are about to get wild!"

…

…

…

"Hey, uh...you planning to keep that bloody machete?"

Kuraima shrugged."I dunno."

* * *

"Ugh! What the actual fuck?! I think that kid gave me motherfuckin' hyper AIDS!" Freed complained to everyone in particular. "My skin's turning green for fuck's sake!"

" **Serves ya' right, honestly."** Noxus shrugged. " **I didn't believe it myself, but vomit comet accidentally dropped that machete in the Land of The Lost Lunches before he tried to chop you with it. Honestly, that's significantly more pleasant than the thought that this voice changer is covered in some icky substance that I'm pretty sure is a few genetic mutations away from becoming Black Mold. That, and the idea of living with my sister."**

"Oooh, you have a sister? Do tell!"

" **I'd rather not. Listen, Freed, if I didn't want to live with my sister, who is in fact, a fucking millionaire, instead choosing a life of poverty…"**

"...Okay, you make a good point."

—

 **Author's notes**

 **I kinda let myself go on this one, as I just kinda gave up on giving Kuraima a consistent personality. Then again, when has Kuraima** _ **ever**_ **had a consistent personality?**

 **But then a person on the literature channel on the Calamity Art Discord posted some advice and then I felt better about myself.**

 **I'm not gonna be perfect, y'know. But there are people out there who like this story, and that's what matters.**

 **At least, that's what I say, as I continue to not release another chapter for one of my most popular fanfictions, aka Red Alert 3: Blue Steel. I'm telling you, the next chapter exists, just...being written at a horribly slow pace.**

 **That being said, I'm still looking for advice on how to improve— can only do so much.**

 **Anyways, Nyke makes his return to forge the fires of bromance! Kuraima meets a waitress whose in-depth description can mean only one thing— she'll be important later on!**

 **For those of you not in the know, as far as I know, Noxus is an upcoming superboss that may be added in a future update.**

 **Noxus at one point was known as Goozma, the planned superboss variant of the Slime God before they decided to make him into a new thing entirely. At least, I think they are. I haven't quite found any official lore...if there is any.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok boys, its review time!**

 **Clockwork Bun Bun & SkeletalPheonix - haha oops. Fixed.**

 **Also SkeletalPheonix - Amen, brotha.**

 **Escanor998 - I see, thanks.**

* * *

Noxus sat in one of the church's many pews, inspecting several strange items.

"Mister Noxus, what are you doing?" Asia asked as she approached and took a seat next to him.

Noxus shrugged. " **I'm just inspecting these incredibly elusive items, sweetums. Like say, check this out."** He held up a small vial. " **Phoenix Tears**. **Capable of healing just about anything. Just like your** _ **[Twilight Healing]. Isn't that just cool?"**_

Asia giggled. "Y...Yeah, it is, Mister Noxus."

…

…

…

Noxus put the vial back in the pile of various objects, all assorted carefully in a small wooden crate aptly labeled ' _Property of Noxus, no touching_.' " **Miss Argento. Is something bothering you?"**

The nun looked away.

" **Look, if you need to talk about it, I'm all ears."**

"W...W-Well…I…am I cursed, Mister Noxus? This Sacred Gear of mine, it's—" She was interrupted by a certain floating hand grasping her shoulder.

" **Stop right there. No, you are not. Asia Argento, you are a bright young lady who was merely caught up in a series of unfortunate situations. You simply did what you thought was the right thing to do without any way of knowing the consequences until it was too late."**

" **Life is...unfair, miss Argento. People, even more so."**

"I...I see."

…

…

…

" **Miss Argento...if there was anything you wish you could do, what would it be?"**

The nun thought for a moment. "W-Well, I'd really like to spend more time with Mister Hyoudou and Mister Kuraima…! I don't care if Mister Hyoudou is a devil! He's...he's one of the nicest people I've met…!"

" **I see…"**

He paused, staring at the evil device that would be used in a few hours to extract Asia's Sacred Gear.

" **Can I make a request of you, miss Argento?"**

"...Y-Yes?"

" **Promise me that you'll be strong."**

"Huh?"

" **Be strong for me. I can't promise that you're gonna make it out alive. I myself can't help; using** _ **[Hand of Noxus]**_ ' **s true power would level the entire building. This will hurt me just as much as it's gonna hurt ya'."**

" **So please, be strong. For me. For God. But most importantly, for Issei and Kuraima. Promise?"**

"...I promise."

" **Thank you. Please, allow me to do this. I'd hate for ya' to die without knowing what's under the hood."**

Noxus pulled his cloak back, revealing his true identity.

"Yo."

* * *

School that day went by rather quickly, to say the least.

Once Kuraima got home, he found the Desert Scourge waiting for him, an array of gear displayed before her.

"Ma'am, what is this?" He asked picking up a pair of fingerless gloves.

...Huh, they fit his hands a little _too_ well...

She crossed her arms and smiled. "Well, you see, before my own reincarnation as a Devil, I was a craftswoman. And a damn fine one at that, too. Devil magic could only do so much without dedicated equipment, but I think I did pretty well."

"...Yeah, uh...thanks...I...guess." He murmured as he gingerly lifted up a familiar-looking vial of acid. "Where'd you get this?"

"Eh, we Stray Devils have our territorial disputes too, you know. I know the secret stashes of everyone around here~"

Kuraima kinda looked away at that. "Well, give me a better containment device other than some flimsy glass, and maybe I'll consider using it."

"Duly noted. Anyways, you best hurry up, little Champion. You've got a maiden to save, and another to woo~!"

"H-Hey! I told you that it was all just a set up by Nyke…!"

* * *

Half an hour later, Kuraima found himself at the abandoned church, decked out in questionably legal attire.

Generic t-shirt so as not to tear expensive school uniform? Check.

Fingerless gloves? Check.

Steel-toe boots that were pulled out of the closet and _still_ somehow fit after all these years? Check.

Weapons? One machete, one combat knife, and a pair of homemade knuckle bracers.

Check.

"Yo, Kuraima!" The Astral Champion looked up upon hearing his name "You're taking this seriously, aren't ya?!"

He chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, I guess. Truth be told, I'm _this_ close to releasing my bowels in fear...even though I took...well, every measure to prevent such an event."

"Ah, well, uh…look, Kuraima-san! I brought friends!"

Sure enough, there was Kiba and Koneko following close behind him.

Kuraima waved halfheartedly. "Oh, hey."

' _Hm...Kiba, Koneko, Kuraima. The three— wait, no, let's not finish that thought.'_

Kiba greeted him politely. "Greetings, Kuraima-san."

"Hey." Koneko deadpanned.

The four sat in silence for a few moments.

"So what's the battle plan?" Kuraima asked, using _[Third Eye]_ to see the enemies lying in wait. "Ooh, they've got an army."

"We just rush them." The little white-haired girl replied. "They already know we're here."

"...Eh, alright."

* * *

A large group of exorcists stood in front of the church's doors, waiting to ambush the enemy.

Only, they weren't prepared for the doors to come flying off their hinges, slamming into the clustered group and forcefully scattering those who weren't immediately knocked out by the impact.

" _BANZAAAAAI!_ " The Astral Student roared as the four charged in, knocking even more exorcists out of commission.

A few managed to fire off a few shots with their guns, their shots going wide as they scrambled to not get cut down.

"What the _actual fuck_ is that noise?!" A voice called out.

Issei recognized that voice. "Freed!" He called out.

"Oh for fuck's sake, you again?!" The madman complained, drawing his sword and gun. "You've come back to dance with me? Sorry kids, but I ain't gay!"

Freed ran forward, aiming to chop 'em up, only forced into dodging when Kuraima grabbed a gun off of one of the fallen clergymen and fired at him.

"Oi, oi! What the fuck kid! You really gonna try to cap my ass so soon?!"

"...yeah. I don't have the time to wimp out, y'know?"

 _PAP PAP PAP PAP!_

Luckily for Kuraima, the Desert Scourge had made him some hearing protection, enchanted to counteract the sound of a gun firing at close range.

The gun eventually stopped firing, a sign that it was out of ammo. Seeing the chamber was pulled back, Freed decided to move in.

The madman smiled. "I've got you now!"

Only for him to get blindsided by Koneko, who punted him to the side, where he smashed into the wall.

"Heh, I owe you one, Koneko-san!"

"...You're welcome."

"Wh-?! Oi! 1v1 me, you fucking pussy!"

"Haha, no." Kuraima responded, picking up some more guns and stuffing them in his pockets the best he could. "Beat his ass, Koneko!"

"Oi, you really gonna leave me with the shorty?!"

Freed was quickly forced to dodge a flying church pew. "WHAT THE _FUCK!_ "

" _Don't call me short."_

* * *

Kiba briefly glanced over his shoulder at the Astral Student. "Kuraima-san, why are you collecting their guns?"

"Part American." He responded.

"...I see." The swordsman eventually replied, not actually understanding it but choosing to just not question it.

Kuraima activated _[Third Eye]_ once more.

"Behind the altar! There's a...an...uhm…" His mind blanked out for a moment as stopped working.

"Secret passage?"

"Yes! Thank you, Kiba-san. Issei! Let's go save Asia!"

The two threw open the secret door, and thus descended into the basement.

"Hey, Issei?"

"Huh? Yeah, Kuraima-san?"

"If...if we both make it out of this alive...you wanna go to that cafe I told you about?"

Issei thought for a moment. "I mean, yeah, sure. Just...why are you asking?"

The champion sighed. "Buddy of mine tricked me into flirting with a girl at that cafe. Thing is, though, she's apparently the one attracted to _me._ I figured that maybe if I was brave enough to rescue a maiden, maybe I'll have the confidence to ask one out. I've got nothing else going for me, considering that I already achieved my life fantasy of meeting an alien."

"..."

Issei stopped moving.

"Issei? Come on man, we gotta…" He trailed off as realizations settled in.

"It's about Yuuma, isn't it?"

"...Yeah."

Yuuma. Issei's first-ever girlfriend, only for her show her true colors as a Fallen Angel and kill him.

He had gone all out to impress her, only to be swept away like trash.

Kuraima approached Issei, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Issei. I don't really like you as a person. But you know what?"

"Forget about her. As much as I hate to say it, you're too _good_ for her, bro. I mean, you can't just get over her at the drop of the hat, but…"

…

"...Alright, look. I'm sorry for bringing her up. But Asia's waiting for us, bro."

"...Yeah, you're right."

A small pause.

"...Hey, you see this door?"

"Yeah?"

"Watch this."

Kuraima ran up the door, which was partially cracked open.

"Some..."

* * *

While two of the four Fallen Angels Noxus had warned them about were elsewhere, defending the establishment, one lay in wait, ready to ambush her enemy the moment they came in through the—

" **...** _ **BODY ONCE TOLD ME."**_

….the door, which had now just smashed into her face, instantly knocking out the very-not-legal-looking Fallen Angel.

The two highschoolers quickly ran in, brandishing their Sacred Gears.

"Loli down. I repeat, the loli is down."

"Dude! You just—"

"She's probably a few hundred years old, relax!"

"YOU JUST NAILED A LOLI!"

"Yes, I nailed her with the door. Went out like a light. She was waiting to ambush and kill us. What's your point?"

"I…uh…"

The two proceeded further.

"Good god, how many goddamn rooms do they have?"

"Can you please stop saying the G-word?"

"What, "God?""

"Agh! Yes! That one"

"Shit, my bad."

Finally, they came upon the room they were looking for. When the opened the door, they were greeted by the sight of Asia being _fucking crucified_ on a cross with a large magic circle under it.

"Asia-san!" The two of them called out.

She looked up at them weakly. "Is...Issei...Kur...aima…"

In front of her, was a voluptuous woman in what was dangerously close to dominatrix gear, with her beautiful black wings completely unfurled.

"Oh, what have we here? A Low-Class Devil and a human!"

"Yuuma?!"

"W-Wait, _that's_ your ex?"

She sneered with a smug smile on her face, crossing her arms under her chest. "Oh, I see that we missed one during damage control." She shrugged, sighing. "Ooooh well. Beggars can't be choosers. You're just in time to see your precious nun die in a really, really painful manner. And for the record, the name's Raynare. Be sure to remember that."

As if on cue, the magic circle glowed brightly, causing Asia to scream in pain. For one too many agonizingly long seconds, this continued until the glowing stopped.

"But, you know what? I think I'll let you have her back."

The device's restraints released their captive as she fell to the floor, where the two young men quickly ran to her aid.

"Asia-san!"

"The two of you...really came back for me…." Her voice was slow and raspy, like that of an old woman. "I'm...sorry for causing you so much trouble."

"No, no! Asia-san! Don't say that!"

"Ah...I wish...I could've spent more time with the two of you….M...Mister Noxus told me all sorts of amazing things about the world…"

Tears were building up in the pervert's eyes. "You're going to be fine, Asia-san! We'll...we'll beat up Raynare…we'll go to this really cool cafe that just opened up downtown…!"

"...Yeah…" Kuraima whispered. "...You'd fit right in, Asia-san."

Kuraima's vision began to warp and blur.

* * *

He found himself inside another church, except now he was in the body of the mysterious samurai. It was broad daylight, but the sun was blocked by a solid barrier of storm clouds.

The lyrics of Jenny's bardic tale permeated throughout the scenescape, each stanza echoing ad infinitum until her "original" voice finished the line, after which it simply faded away like whispers on the wind.

 _The Harpy Queen was a great raptor,_

 _Whose bloodlust knew naught a bound._

 _All the villagers in her path came to rapture,_

 _Their people never to be found._

Cradled in his arms was a little girl whose face had been clawed out by the sharp talons of a nearby Harpy— a half-bird, half-human creature— whose bisected corpse had been pinned to a half-crumbled altar.

'Kuraima' looked down upon the young girl, which caused text to appear.

 _Name: Nanalethene_

 _Race: Human_

 _Age: 10_

 _Health: 10/50_

 _Debuffs:_

 _Bleeding - Health regeneration neutralized._

 _Grave Fate- Past the point of no return._

Kuraima could only watch as her breathing slowed.

 _9/50._

 _7/50._

 _5/50._

The little girl raised her hand up, which 'Not-Kuraima' grabbed and held tightly.

 _3/50._

 _1/50._

 _ **[DEAD].**_

' _Wait...is this…those lyrics were from that song Jenny sang at the cafe! So why am I…?!'_

"We lost her, sensei." The samurai-wanna said as he gently laid the body to rest.

There was another person with him; the man in red from before. The one with the glowing blue eyes. The 'sensei' snapped his fingers, and the body went up in flames, slowly reduced to embers and ash.

"Do you feel it? That burning feeling inside you. That is anger, Astral One. This is the true world of "Heroes." This is what doesn't get put into the books and the tavern songs. A hero is always surrounded by death and destruction. You will feel ceaseless anger. Anger at others for their actions, and anger at yourself for your own inability to take action."

The warm, soothing rain began to pour, the droplets gently landing on the terrain, soiling the ashes.

"You can wash away the anger, my pupil. But it will come, like a flood of pain."

"Through your darkest day, and your final hour. It will never let up, until the clouds are clear."

"That being said, young pupil...vengeance is perfectly acceptable in this case."

The man in red held his hand out.

"Come on. Let's go commit regicide, Astral One."

* * *

"A...Asia-san! Wake up!"

Kuraima snapped back to reality. Issei was trying to get Asia Argento to reawaken, but it was clear just how futile it was.

"She's….she's dead, Issei."

The two set her down on one of the church pews.

Cause of death? Soul splintering.

A Sacred Gear is directly bound to one's very soul. Remove the Sacred Gear and the soul becomes incomplete and thus is forcefully ejected from the body, causing death.

The two stood there silently, staring at Asia's dead body.

Meanwhile, Raynare giggled, holding _[Twilight Healing]_ between her fingers.

"Ohoho! She died!" She taunted, slipping the ring on. "Who could've seen THAT coming?! Pft, hah! You humans are so easy to toy with!"

The Astral Student closed his eyes, sighing deeply.

"Issei."

"Huh?"

"I take back what I said."

Kuraima turned around, drawing the machete from its sheath. "Forget about getting over your ex."

" _We're gonna beat the_ _ **everloving shit out of her."**_

Issei thought for a moment, before materializing his _**[Twice Critical].**_

"Let's do it. For Asia-san!"

 **Raynare has Awoken!**

"Oh?" Raynare questioned, tilting her head. "The two of you think you can take me on?"

She grinned, forming a pair of spears made out of tainted light in her hands. "That's real cute."

She took to the air, throwing her weapons at the two, immediately forcing them to split up and dodge.

The Astral Champion dived behind a church pew and pulled out one of the exorcists' guns out and started blasting, forcing the Fallen to move lest she get capped.

"A gun? Really? Why, I—"

" _Nooooot faaaaaair!"_ Kuraima said in a mocking tone of voice. "Yeah. I know. That's why I'm shooting at you!"

While she was distracted, Issei ran around and jumped.

 _ **Boosto!**_

He decked her in the face just as she turned towards him, sending her flying into the wall.

"Nice shot!"

"Thanks!"

Raynare sneered once more as she got up. "Did you really forget about this?" She grinned, showing off _**[Twilight Healing]**_. "Shame on you!"

The beautiful ring shone brightly, the bruise on her face disappearing as it healed up.

"What are you gonna do about it?!" She paused, then shook her head. "No, that's not the question here." She laughed maniacally. "What _can_ you do about it? That's right! Absolutely nothing!"

* * *

' _Kuraima' found himself in a rather grand cathedral. In Raynare's place, was a Harpy wearing some rather revealing royal garments, a partially opaque cyan aura covering her body._

 _He fought with all his might_

 _But however the hero tried to make things right,_

 _The Harpy Queen did not move a slight,_

 _For she had a ring of great might._

 _When 'Kuraima' shot at her with a crossbow made of feathers and an unknown metal, the bolt simply just pinged off of her shield, causing her to laugh maniacally._

* * *

Raynare looked down at Kuraima, whose movements seemed to mirror that as 'not-Kuraima's' as she took to the air. "Hmph. For a human, you sure are a pain in the ass. Shooting at me while I'm down? Clever, but not good enough!"

She dived at him, forming another spear, which the Astral Student barely managed to avoid by hopping away at the last second. Raynare went in for a follow-up, which the Astral Student managed to parry by grabbing her wrist and kneeing her in the stomach.

However, she still had a free hand. An advantage she was determined to not waste as she formed a second spear…

….and impaled him in the stomach.

 _ **PAIN.**_

That is all Kuraima could comprehend.

Up until now, he had yet to receive any truly life-threatening injuries.

And now that he finally did, he dropped like a sack of hammers as his body almost instantly went into a state of shock.

 _ **PAIN PAIN PAIN PAIN IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS**_

The stomach cramps from before could never compare to what he was currently feeling.

"Hahaha! Do you see this, Hyoudou-kun?! It's futile!"

Kuraima, his mind numb, tried to crawl away, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.

He wanted out.

He wanted to go home.

He wanted to go to bed.

He wanted to forget all of this.

"Ho? Where do you think you're going, kid? A lot of dangerous weapons for a highschooler to be carrying!"

She grabbed him, stripping him of his stolen guns, his machete, everything he could use as a weapon. Now that he was disarmed, she tosses him aside like a ragdoll, after which he slammed into the wall. His heel caught onto the edge of certain small crate, causing glass vials of various liquids to crash upon him.

Issei shouted "KURAIMA-SAN!" and began to run to where he landed. However, a light spear stopped that plan in its tracks.

"He's too far gone, Hyoudou-kun! Now it's just you and me!"

"Grrrrrrah! Damn you!"

The pervert threw his punches, but his ex-girlfriend dodged them with ease.

"Haha! Cry and plead all you want! But God won't come to those who have turned their back on him!"

Issei only roared in anger, swinging his gauntlet at her with every chance he got, only for her to tauntingly dodge every time.

"I've grown tired of your games, Hyoudou-kun!" The she-bitch called out, forming another light spear.

"Don't…" Issei murmured, the rest being indecipherable, even to the ears of the supernatural.

"Oh? What was that? I couldn't hear you~"

He clenched his armored fist, looking up at her, his eyes burning with rage and determination.

"Didn't you hear me?"

 **Boosto!**

"Do."

 **Boosto!**

"Not."

 **Boosto!**

"Call me."

 **Boosto!**

" _Hyoudou-Kun!"_

Raynare stumbled upon feeling the sheer amount of energy Issei was emanating.

"This is ...on par of that with a High-Class Devil's power! How did he...no! It's only a measly _**[Twice Critical]**_ _!_ How could he…!"

Then she saw it.

His gauntlet had transformed, becoming more heavily armored and now resembling the scaled talons of a dragon.

"No...he had the fabled _**[Boosted Gear]**_ all along?! This...This can't be happening!"

"If God won't help me, then that's perfectly fine by me!"

He looked her dead in the eyes.

"Any God who would turn their back on someone like Asia is _no god of mine!"_

She panicked, forming a spear and throwing it at him as hard as she could.

…

…

…

He reared his fist back punched it, shattering it like it was nothing.

Stunned, Raynare could only watch in horror as the reincarnated devil walked up to her, his fist drawn back once more.

For a brief moment, his fist threatened to break the sound barrier as it dug into her abdomen as he channeled his animosity into a single strike. She slammed into the concrete wall hard enough to leave a human-shaped hole roughly several inches deep, where she finally came to rest.

"Grrh...no! I will not be stopped here…! Not while I…!" She raised her arm up, channeling her magic to...to…

The ring was gone.

"Wh-What?! How?! W-Where did…?!"

A mixture of laughter and sharp coughing answered her question. Kuraima was sitting between some of the church pews holding his hand up.

Asia's ring fit almost perfectly.

"Hah...finders keepers..." He spat out, activating the ring's healing power on himself. "...faggot."

"You...YOU…!"

When they had briefly grappled before she tried to turn him into a human donut, he'd managed to yoink the ring off of her finger. The action had left him open, but it the end, it worked out quite fine.

The space worm's champion took the piece of cloth that was covering Noxus' box of "personal" items and wiped some of the blood and shattered glass away, slowly getting up with shaky legs.

"Heh. I don't even know why I did it. Why I didn't go for the knife."He shrugged weakly. "But I'm sure glad I nipped that problem in the bud."

"Kuraima-san…"

"Help me out here, I'm feeling' a bit lightheaded…"

" **Yo kid."** The modulated voice of Noxus called. " **That was fucking awesome."** The man in question was standing in the doorway of the room. " **I...would've liked it if you didn't spill my precious belongings, though."**

"Noxus?! Ho...How long have you been here for?"

" **Just got back in time to see the Hyoudou kid falcon-punch his lame ex. Anyways, as much as I'd like to let this battle drag on, I'm afraid I gotta bail. You see, the boss wants info on a traitor who might actually stir up some really tough shit and your ex probably knows more than the others considering, that, well, two of them died at the hands of your devil buddies, third's clueless."**

" **That said, you wanna say any last words?"**

"Yeah…" Kuraima replied, "Fuck you, Raynare."

" **Simple and eloquent. I like it."** Noxus paused for a moment, then shrugged. " **You know, I'm surprised you didn't already figure out my true identity, kiddo."**

"Huh, what're you…?"

Noxus pulled his hood back, revealing a very, very familiar face.

"Oi, Kuraima. Nice seein' you here, eh? Small world."

"N...Nyke-san!?"

"Yep, the one and only. I figured a couple of bright kids like you two would've figured me out once you saw my arm. Anyways, your red-headed lady friend's on her way. Thought I might let y'all know."

The large gray hand grabbed onto Raynare, hefting her over Nyke's shoulder, might to her childish dismay.

"No! Noooo! Unhand me, human!"

"Haha, no."

Nyke looked back over his shoulder. "We still meetin' up at the cafe?"

Kuraima shrugged. "Yeah, sure."

"Aight, see ya soon. Just drop by anytime— I'm there practically every day."

"See ya."

Silence reigned as Nyke just up and left.

Kuraima and Issei looked at each other, and shrugged, not really sure what just happened.

After a few moments, the Astral Student looked down at _**[Twilight Healing]**_. "Might as well return this…"

He walked over to Asia's body, slipping the ring off of his finger and gently placing it upon hers. Her hand was still warm as, contrary to how it works in the books, bodies actually take quite a while to cool.

"Hey, Asia-san. If you're listening...send us a few postcards from Heaven, will ya?"

Once the ring was returned to its rightful place, it locked in place, now bound to its original owner.

"Arrivederci, Asia Argento."

Silence once more.

…

…

…

...Until…

"Nn."

"What the—?!"

The two boys jumped back as Asia's body suddenly made a very _human_ sound.

"Issei, you seeing this shit?!"

"No fucking way!"

"She's alive! She's alive!"

Sure enough, she was alive. Her chest was steadily rising and lowering as she breathed softly.

"She's...she's not responding, but she's alive! It's an honest to...Astrum miracle!"

Asia was alive, yes. But in a comatose state. After having her soul forcefully cut apart, her what was left had evacuated the body. However, by putting the ring back, the wayward soul fragment had locked itself into an empty shell.

"Issei! We gotta get Rias!"

"W-What? Why?!"

"We...it's not too late! We can still save her! We just gotta do that thing Rias did with you!"

"...what are you...Ooooh, you mean the reincarnation thing!"

* * *

Back upstairs, the group of devils had finished off the exorcists and other priests. While Freed had fled, cloaking his exit with a flash bomb, all the other enemies had been neutralized, including two fallen angels, who were finished off by Rias and Akeno.

"Good work, everyone." The scarlet devil in question was in the middle of praising her present peerage on a job well done.

" _Rias!_ Rias!" Kuraima's voice called out from the unveiled staircase. The two highschoolers were rushing as fast as they could, with Kuraima carrying Asia's comatose body over his shoulder.

"You gotta do the reincarnation thing!"

"...You look like shit." Koneko deadpanned, staring at him and his bloodied clothes. Truth be told, he looked like a murder victim.

"Yeah, well, at least it's my own blood. Suits me well. Because it's mine. You get the point. But that's not important."

"...Kuraima-san, what is the meaning of this?"

Issei and the Astral Student explained _everything_ they could.

Asia's backstory, of how she was tricked by a Devil and abandoned by the church.

How Raynare decided to tear out her Sacred Gear and use it for herself.

But most importantly, her wish.

Her wish to spend more time with the two of them; the kindest people she ever knew.

"And before you ask, yeah, you get a free healer unit. A win/win situation!"

"...I see…"

She paused for a moment, before withdrawing a bishop piece from…somewhere.

"Let's get to it, then." She motioned over to one of the church pews. "Set her down. Don't wanna accidentally reincarnate you, now do we?"

Asia's body was gently put to rest, and Kuraima backed away.

"Now, Asia Argento! Rise once more, and live on as my servant!"

The redhead posed dramatically as she lowered the now-glowing piece onto Asia, where it sunk into her chest.

A moment passed, and then another.

"Ah…?"

Asia's eyes fluttered open. "Is...is this heaven?"

"Nope, not quite. But hey, we're glad to have you here nonetheless."

"Huh?!" She suddenly sat up, looking around. "This is…"

Then, she saw them.

"I….Issei! K-Kuraima! You…!" Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Everything's gonna be alright, Asia-san."

There was lots of crying and hugs to be had.

* * *

"Huh. Wow, you look like shit."

Kuraima looked at the Desert Scourge and shrugged. "You're not the first to say that. But don't worry about me, I'm doing just fine."

"Heh. If you say so, kiddo."

"Anyways, I'm exhausted. Gonna get cleaned up and go to bed."

"G'Night then."

"Good night."

An hour later, once Kuraima finished scrubbing all the dried blood off of his body, he flopped onto his nice, warm bed.

That night, Kuraima slept very well, knowing that Asia Argento was safe and sound.

…Well, that, and the fact that his stomach cramps were completely gone and forgotten.

* * *

Back at the church, everything was quiet.

However, the silence was not to last.

The puddle where Kuraima had nearly bled out began to bubble as it mixed with the various liquids from Nyke's crate.

A layer of an unknown substance began to form. It was gray, practically more of a silver. Orange boils formed on top of it, sprouting finger-like digits as they popped.

They grasped one of vials, one labeled ' _Blood of Nidhoggr'_ , crushing it to pieces with logic-defying strength to let the vial's contents be absorbed.

In an instant, the puddle simply exploded in size, covering much of the floor and even snaking up the walls.

Everything it touched, it investigated. Anything that wasn't nailed down, it assimilated.

The steel frames of the pistols were melted down via acid, alloyed with various organics of alien origin.

The crate's remaining contents were swallowed up, and so were the screws holding the box itself together.

A large boil formed in the center of the massive blob of pseudo flesh, growing larger at an unnatural rate.

Then, finally, it exploded, splattering glowing orange liquids all over the walls.

Crouching down on one knee in its place was a naked person, skin pale beyond what was possible for a human. Boney armor plates covered its arms and legs, as well as its upper body.

" _Kuuuuuu….."_

Its head turned up, pair of glowing orange eyes darting around to observe its surroundings.

' _I am conscious. But what am I?'_

It looked at its hands, clenching its fists to get a feel for its new form.

It heard the sound of something in the distance and stood up.

It began to walk, intent on fulfilling its curious whims.

' _I am...Astral Infection.'_

It continued walking, a layer of Infection covering the floor behind it like a snail leaving a slime trail. Up the stairs, until it found the top floor. The front door was creaking in the breeze. It wandered up to it, staring at the squeaky hinges.

Then it saw the light of the moon and the world beyond it.

' _I need...decency?'_

It grabbed the cloaks of the fallen exorcists, slathering them in Infection. They shriveled up like leaves in Autumn, before forming clothes that looked suspiciously like those that Kuraima had worn that night.

And so, the Astral Infection entered the moonlit world.

—

 **Author's Notes**

 **I haven't completely a chapter like this, start to finish, this quickly ever since freshman highschool.**

 **So anyways, I let myself get carried away again, and once again, Kuraima took the spotlight.**

 **Sure, he's the main character, but believe me, I wanted to give Issei a time to shine.**

 **Maybe. Just maybe one day.**

 **Doesn't help that the next arc's most likely gonna be a Terraria Boss arc.**

 **I also considered splitting this chapter up into two, but ultimately decided against it.**


	7. Chapter 7

**So, a bit of a shorter chapter. Mostly filler, since we need to wind down a little from the last one. I decided to chop this chapter straight down the middle in order to keep the tone on the straight and narrow considering the dark stuff that happened in the last one.**

 _ **So anyway, it's time for...**_

 _ **:clap: REVIEW REVIEW**_

 **Zapper3000380** **\- One, it turns out that orange wasn't a big a part of the color scheme I thought it was. Oopsie.**

 **Two, I'm pretty sure Astral Infection is post WoF.**

 **Third, well, about the Moon Lord thing…**

 **Yes, but I ain't tellin' ya any more than that. Honestly, any parallels to** _ **Terraria DxD: Lunatics**_ **are** _ **mostly**_ **coincidental because I forgot that the story even existed…**

 **On a semi-related note, the petition to add the Moon Lord's lower half as a boss in the next update got 10k signatures.**

 **Legs confirmed.**

 **Spazmatism** **\- Okay, first of all, how the hell does a giant mecha eye use a keyboard?**

 **Anyways, funny you should mention that...I wasn't able to figure out a place to put the EoC but this story arc WILL feature vanilla bosses. Or, at least, their Sacred Gear variants.**

 **Originally, I wasn't gonna follow the linear boss progression (Which is pretty ironic since I'm not really a big fan of how Calamity made the game less linear).**

 **...But then, I kinda realized that making** _ **Signus**_ **the first boss enemy he encounters would've been a bad idea...since, you know, highschooler vs a master shapeshifting assassin...yeeeah.**

 **Also, I'd like to address a few things.**

 **Terraria has official lore now! It's...actually pretty inconsistent in places, but it exists.**

 **That being said, this story will continue to use fanon lore that I have created in my other, older Terraria fanfictions, though heavily modified to adjust for Calamity lore.**

 **You...won't find much of it considering that most of the stories featuring it (Such as** _ **Red Like Crimtane**_ **,** _ **Lands of Illusion and Creation**_ _ **,**_ **and whatever the fuck that Gate + Terraria crossover was called.) were deleted because I didn't really like them, and those that still exist are quite limited in what they actually tell you.**

 **But given that this story takes place on Earth, it's not really that important.**

 **On with the show!**

* * *

Kuraima sat on one of the couches in the ORC club room, idly staring at the ceiling.

' _Alright, Kuraima. YOU CAN DO THIS.'_

Right now, he was trying to psyche himself up. Why you may ask?

Well, as previously mentioned, Kuraima achieved his life dream, one that is so incredibly unlikely that it might as well be a fantasy; Meeting alien life.

So, he decided to embark on an even _more_ treacherous trial, one that defines the barrier between boy and man…

Our Astral boy decided to try and find love.

Couldn't be THAT hard, right? He straight up nearly died about a week ago, so he was obviously ready for anything.

Yeah, no.

News flash, girls have the terrifying ability to stop a man in their tracks through the sheer force of one's lacking self-confidence.

His thoughts were interrupted by someone entering the room. He looked up at her and greeted her. "Oh, hey there Asia-san."

"Ah! Hello Kuraima-san!"

"How's school been for you?"

"It's been so much fun! Everyone here is so nice and supportive!"

The Astral Student smiled. "Heh, that's good. Say, has anyone been giving you any trouble?"

"Not at all!"

Good. Let's keep it that way.

"Good, good. How's Issei treatin' ya?"

Asia had moved into Issei's house, given that Kuraima already had a housemate. Apparently, Rias had used a little bit of her "Charisma" to convince Issei's parents that she was a foreign exchange student from Italy.

They asked too _few_ questions, but they definitely bought it nevertheless,

Anyways, with that issue taken care of, Asia was enrolled in Kuoh Academy, where she quickly became popular for her absolutely adorable innocence.

"He's such a nice person! I...I don't really get why you don't like him all that much…"

Uh oh, she's asking too many questions.

"W-Well...you see, we just don't see...eye-to-eye on a few things."

She stared at him for a few moments, before shrugging.

' _Speech 100.'_

"Hey, so, uh, you wanna join me and Issei when we go to that cafe Nyke-san told you about?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

"Why, of course!" Her eyes sparkled at that.

"Alrighty then. We'll just wait for Issei then…"

And so they waited.

…

…

…

"Hey, I brought my Switch. You wanna play Undertale?"

"Undertale?"

"Yeah." He said, pulling his game system out of his bag. "Cute little game from the West. Absurdly popular, even here in Japan."

So much so, that Sans got added into Smash as a Mii costume.

"Everyone knows it because of the internet memes, but it's actually a pretty deep game about morality and the likes."

That was very true. One of the main selling points (besides the sheer number of dogs in the game) was that it was an RPG where nobody had to die.

"Mor...Morality?"

"Yeah. It's a pretty weird metaphysical force that tries to keep you from doing really bad things. Or was that ethics?"

Kuraima shrugged. "I'm just a kid in highschool, what do I know about morals and ethics?"

* * *

A few minutes later, Kuraima had to comfort Asia when she got to the Toriel boss fight.

"K-Kuraima-san…I d-don't know what t-to do...!"

"Asia! Relax! Relax!"

* * *

 _Much, Much later…_

The party of three, now consisting of Issei, Kuraima, and Asia, entered the fantasy cafe.

"Ah, welcome to the Moonlit Tavern, weary scholars!" The man at the front desk called out to them. "Please take a seat and we will send our waiters to take your order!"

...There was something familiar about him, but Kuraima couldn't put his finger on it.

Oh well.

"Oi, Kuraima!" Ah yes, the voice and greeting the Astral student knew all too well.

"Oi, Nyke-san!" Kuraima raised a clenched fist, bumping it with Nyke's as he sat down. "My man!"

"N...Nyke-san!"

"Yep, it's me, in the flesh. How's life been, Asia?"

"W-Why, it's been splendid! Everyone is so nice and welcoming!"

Nyke smiled, leaning back in his chair. "Good, good. So, what brings the three of you here today?"

Kuraima shrugged. "Figured we might as well celebrate Asia's first full week of school, y'know?"

And, of course, maybe _try_ flirting with the barmaid.

"Aye, I can get behind that."

As they chatted amongst themselves, a certain barmaid approached.

' _Okay Kuraima, it's do or don't.'_

"H-Hello, may I take your order?" She asked pen in hand.

"Yeah...I'll take the Cosmic Cream Puffs, a root beer…and…"

Kuraima's next words got stuck in his throat. ' _Come on! Say it! Say it! SAY IT!'_

"...a-and…"

' _SAY IT.'_

"And perhaps a nice evening with the young lass taking his order."

has stopped working.

Cute_ has stopped working.

"N...Nyke-san!" The Astral student spattered out, tears of embarrassment welling up in his eyes. "Why do you do this to me—"

The white-haired gal put the notepad to her face, her eyes looking away from Kuraima's direction, blushing heavily.

"W…Well…I'm f-free...this weekend…and...I don't really have much else...t-to do…"

Meanwhile, inside the Astral Champion's head…

* * *

 _A problem has been detected and the Brain has been shut down to prevent damage to your Main Character._

 _If this is the first time you've seen this stop error screen, restart your human. if this screen appears again, follow these steps:_

 _Check to make sure any new hardware or software is properly installed. If this is a new installation, ask your therapist or other trusted individual for any updates you might need._

 _If problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware or software. Purge the memory cache through willful ignorance or obscene amounts of alcohol. If you need to use Full Retard Mode to escape the current undesirable situation, restart your human, press F8 to select Advanced Startup Options, and then select Full Retard Mode._

 _Technical information:_

 _*** STOP: 0x000000FE (0x00000008, 0x000000006, 0x00000009, 0x847075cc)_

* * *

Issei was laughing his ass off at Kuraima's torment, while Asia just looked on, incredibly confused as to what was going on.

"W-Wait?! Just like that?!" The student sputtered and spat, looking between her and Nyke rapidly. "T-That's all it takes?!"

"Yeah, kiddo. Scored a few dates back in my day before I left my home to get as far away from my sister as possible."

"..."

"Come on, Kuraima. You got this."

Kuraima turned to face the waitress.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

"Do...you wanna hang out with me?"

Her eyes darted around shyly.

"S..sure…"

"Ah ...um...when ...do you…wanna meet up?" Kuraima asked, trying to cover his face with the menu.

"W-Well, I'm free on the weekends…"

He thought for a moment. Today was Friday, so "...uhm…how about uuuh…does tomorrow at 4 PM work?"

As long as nothing came up, 4 PM would give him an ample amount of time to get ready given how late he tends to sleep in.

"Y-Yeah, I can work with that…Anyways, o-orders!"

After she took the rest of their orders, Kuraima buried his head in his arms.

"Oh. My. G— _Astrum._ I...I actually did it. I actually pulled it off."

Nyke gave the student a big, somewhat forceful pat on the back. "I knew you had it in ya', kiddo."

"Kuraima-senpai!" Issei pleaded. "Teach me your ways! Explain to me how you did it!"

"What?" Kuraima replied, "Ask Nyke-san! I ain't teachin' you—" He glanced at Asia, "—jack!"

Nyke just lost it, laughing his ass off at their shenanigans.

"So, you guys got any stories to share?" He eventually asked, changing the subject to give the poor kid some relief.

"Oh, yeah!"

* * *

"...so then, I told her, " _One sees you later, and the other in a while!"_

The group of four laughed as Nyke finished up his current story. They had been cycling through stories of their lives for a good few hours now, with a couple of laughter intermissions.

"So anyway, that's when I realized that my passport was stolen and now I was stuck in Japan."

The laughter came to an awkward halt at that.

At that time, the sound of a fire truck off in the distance could be heard.

"Huh? Fire squad's on the move."

Kuraima shrugged. "In the few years that I've been here, I've never seen them get mobilized."

Issei shrugged as well. "I've only seen them send out the fire trucks only twice as far as I remember. The second time was when my dad tried cooking without mom's help."

"Woah, okay, now _this_ , I gotta hear."

"Well, you see, my dad's a really bad cook. Actually, now that I think about it, I can't help but wonder if someone has it out for him…"

Really, it was a bewildering experience to hear Issei talk about anything other than boobs for longer than five minutes.

* * *

 _Meanwhile, in the kitchen._

"I did it, Sensei…! I...I got a date with him...he asked me out first…!"

The barmaid was nearly in tears from emotional overload as she talked to her manager.

"I'm proud of ya, gal." Her boss responded, putting his hands in his pocket. "You're already growin' up. Soon enough, you won't need my help with anything."

The barmaid pouted, "A…..you're embarrassing me, s-sensei…!" Her sensei laughed. "Bwahaha! Can't I tease my adopted daughter a little bit? Father's duty!"

He then paused. "Speaking of duty, look who's callin'! Dinner rush just started. Time for work!"

She saluted him. "Y-Yes sensei!" She then left through the door to take orders.

The manager sighed. "God, you always were an adorable one. Unlike a certain _someone._ "

He glanced up at the ceiling.

" **Excuse me?"**

"Yeah, that's right. I'm talking to you, bird-brain."

Out of one of the vents came the round white bird Kuraima had seen through the window about a week ago. It landed on the kitchen counter, staring at the manager.

" **Do** _ **not**_ **refer to me by that name!"**

The man scoffed. "I'll refer to you however I damn well please, you shitty goddess."

" **S-Shitty?! I'll have you know that—"**

"We've been over this a million or so times. _I am fucking MILES above you._ The moment you try anything suspicious, I'll fucking _end you._ I already lost one bright pupil…"

The manager's eyes glazed over as if an illusion were being dispelled, before clearing to reveal a pair of glowing cyan-colored eyes with pixelated irises.

"And in the name of the Moon Lord, I won't lose another."

* * *

 **Author's notes**

 **This arc is mainly a Terraria arc, after which we will begin the forest of familiars mini-arc, I suppose.**

 **Originally, I was going to merge this one with the aforementioned Familiar Forest arc, as Kuraima was gonna meet the same character there, the difference being she was a homeless person.**

 **But come on, a GF** _ **and**_ **a familiar? That's a little too much, even for my skewed definition of "too much".**

 **Hell, I haven't even decided if he should get one or what he'll get if he does.**

 **Suggestions would be nice, though I highly doubt he'll get any of the waifu Elementals...**


	8. Chapter 8

**Now let us review.**

 **Guest** **\- Well, there's Calamity Dimensions, a fanmade expansion mod that adds Goozma as a boss.**

—

"Rise and shine, Worm Boy!" The Desert Scourge announced, kicking open the door to Kuraima's room.

"What the _**fuck,**_ Matilda-san?!"

Oh, yeah, that's her name. Forgot to mention that over the course of at least 6 chapters before this one.

So it was either now or never, I suppose.

"You can't just kick down my door whenever you feel like it!"

"It's twelve in the morning, kiddo! You've got a date in four hours!"

"But why would you wake me up at twelve?! What the hell do I do with the two or three extra hours?!"

"Dunno."

"...At least _knock_ on the door you prick! You don't have to actually _kick_ it!"

"Haha, duly noted~"

* * *

Donning a pair of khaki shorts and a simple short-sleeved polo shirt, the Astral Champion of Earth was ready for his first date. Ever.

As Kuraima left his house, he pulled out his phone, checking his messages.

He'd gotten her number before they had left the cafe, and decided via text that they'd meet up at the local park.

The Astral Student noticed he'd received a text message from the Gremory Devil.

* * *

 _ **Rias -**_ _Hey, Kuraima, you awake?_

He quickly typed out a response.

 _ **Kuraima -**_ _Yeah, leaving the house now_

 _ **Kuraima -**_ _Something important happy?_

 _ **Kuraima -**_ _gdi even when I turn off autocorrect_

 _ **Kuraima -**_ _*Happen_

 _ **Rias -**_ _haha lol_

 _ **Rias -**_ _Anyways, the firefighters were mobilized yesterday._

 _ **Rias -**_ _Turns out there was a meth lab explosion on the eastern outskirts of town. The entire warehouse went up in flames._

 _ **Kuraima -**_ _looks like fried chicken isn't the only thing Kentucky has exported_

 _ **Rias -**_ _lol_

 _ **Rias -**_ _Anyways, I had my associates do some digging and apparently there's a gang of Sacred Gear users that's decided to settle into town._

Kuraima paused mid-step, processing this information.

 _ **Kuraima -**_ _Should I be scared?_

 _ **Kuraima -**_ _i'd really not like to suddenly hear piano music_

 _ **Rias -**_ _Honestly, I'd be on guard._

 _ **Rias -**_ _Apparently, whatever it was that caused that meth lab to explode, it might not be human._

 _ **Rias -**_ _Shortly before the incident occurred, there were reports of some of the men involved being launched at high speed through the walls. Hence, why everyone involved only go away with light wounds/burns._

 _ **Rias -**_ _Except for one_

 _ **Rias -**_ _They found him on the other side of town, unconscious. Name: Cru Stasion. He had a Sacred Gear, which according to him, was known as_ _ **[Perfect Infestation]**_ _. Some kind of fungus-based ability that manifests...crab parts, of all things._

 _ **Kuraima -**_ _LMAO WHAT_

 _ **Kuraima**_ \- _PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE JOKING ABOUT THE NAME_

 _ **Rias -**_ _I'm not joking, lol._

Kuraima had been informed about this strange incident in the Sacred Gear business if you could call it that. Recently, a string of _brand new_ Sacred Gears had begun to appear— his _**[Stella Dominus]**_ included— after many hundred or so years of no new Gears. It was really throwing the factions in all corners of the world for a loop as they scrambled to gather as many as they could.

Luckily for him, as long as he remained in Rias' territory, he'd be pretty safe from recruiters.

 _ **Rias -**_ _So yeah, be careful._

 _ **Rias -**_ _BTW, good luck on your date ;)_

 _ **Kuraima -**_ _haha, thanks. you know I'll need it_

* * *

Upon entering the park's central area, he saw the woman he had come to meet.

There she was, wearing a cute white dress with a blue mini-skirt. Formal, yet with a hint of casual. Very modest, yet attractive. Combined with her adorably freckled face and equally adorable pair of glasses, she was a sight to behold.

"Well…uh...hey there."

"...H...Hi…"

He took a seat next to her, basking in the warm air.

"So...how are you doing?" He said, trying to stir up some small talk.

She looked away shyly, twiddling her thumbs. "I'm...fine."

The two awkwardly sat there.

"Say, uh...can I get a name? I kinda forgot to ask. I'm Sensou. Sensou Kuraima. Please, just call me Kuraima."

"Helenski...Helenski La Sola."

"Huh. La Sola...La Sola…" He leaned back. "I like it...it has a good rhythm to it."

This caused her to blush.

' _God, she's like Asia except much shyer…and socially awkward.'_

"Hey, hold on, I'll be right back."

The Astral champion got up, pulling money from his pocket as he approached a vending machine.

A few moments later, Kuraima returned with two cans of Coca Cola.

"Ah yes, one _Cola_ for _La Sola._ "

"W-Wh?!"

"Sorry, I took the chance, and I saw it."

Kuraima had spent around 400¥ on some soft drinks just so he could say that.

"Heh…" She began to giggle at that. And soon, the laughter spread to him.

' _Charisma 10.'_

"Say, wanna go get something' to eat?" Upon asking that, her eyes lit up.

"Y-Yes! I'd love to!"

* * *

Sometime later, the two were now sitting at a local pizza joint.

"So, uh, Sola-san. I'd like to, well, y'know, know a bit more about you."

"W-Well…there's...not really that much to talk about…"

"Come on, just...something, I guess." He shrugged.

One of the best ways to do things on a date was to talk about themselves. Well, in moderation, at least.

"Ah...well…"

They...were kinda having trouble with that. Kuraima didn't really have any interesting life stories, and she was really, really hesitant.

"...You know, if you don't really feel that comfortable, you don't have to talk. We could just enjoy each other's company if you'd like…"

"Nono, it's fine! I...uh...just…"

"Want me to go first?"

"...S...Sure."

"Well…"

He leaned back, putting a quizzical hand to his chin as he thought to himself for a moment.

"For starters, I grew up in the States. More specifically, the state of Kentucky. Might've heard of it, might've not. We're...actually kind of historically important. Well, depends on the kind of history." He shrugged.

"We've got the Kentucky Derby and the birthplace of Bluegrass music. We produce like, so much coal that we could probably power the US on coal alone for like, what, at least a few decades if not a hundred years?"

"Woah..."

"Yeah. We're pretty cool, I suppose. So anyway, my parents? They're pretty good. They're devout Catholics, but they're the good kind who actually respect my choice to be...uh, non-catholic."

He wasn't sure what the right term was. He had _proof_ that there were indeed gods and other higher deities, so he couldn't be agnostic.

Was he an atheist? He didn't really want to admit it, he didn't really like that idea because atheism was riddled with neckbeards.

Oh well.

"Anyways, I'm here because one of our family traditions is to send the kids overseas to complete highschool in our ancestral homeland."

"Wow…"

"So, uh, how about yourself?"

She nervously twiddled her thumbs.

"I'm adopted."

Kuraima nearly choked on his soda.

"Achk! S-Sorry…" He lightly pounded his chest in an attempt to clear up his chest. "I….I didn't expect that right off the bat..."

"No, no! I'm sorry...I…"

"Look, if you don't want to talk about it…"

She began her tale.

"W-Well, you see...I'm…actually on r-really good terms with my biological f-father...but...legally I'm adopted...b...because…"

"...Because of what?"

"F…Father did…..nnn…nnn-n-naughty things…! With…the woman who w-would become my mom! He...He gets with women all the...the time...a-and…"

…

…

…

"Oh. _Ooooohkay._ "

…

…

….

"Well, uh...surely there's more to this?"

"Y...Yes...b-both were really i-important people...and if...if it got out that I was their child…"

That...wow. Kuraima didn't expect that at all.

"Oh, I see. You'd get caught up in all kinds of nasty stuff."

…

…

…

"But hey, if life is good for ya, that's all that matters. Oh, well, I'd say pizza's important too!"

The waiter came by, delivering a nice large hot and steamy pepperoni pizza, fresh out of the oven.

"Shall we?"

"Y-Yes…!" The way her eyes lit up…

...truth be told, Kuraima was actually starting to fall for her.

This girl knew a good meal when she saw one.

However, neither of them notice that they were being stalked, as a small, sickly green little blob hiding in the rafters, watching them.

Kuraima remembered something, just as he was about to bite down. "Oh, your father...he wouldn't happen to work with Nyke-san, would he?"

"A-Ah…"

"...S-Sorry. My curiosity got the best of me—"

Then he realized something else.

"Wait, you're the adopted daughter of the manager at the cafè, right?!"

"Y-Yes, why?"

"So that means...you get to hang out with Jenny Hallows?!"

"W-Who?"

"She's the creator of _World Adventures of Ren!_ "

…

…

…

"W-Wait? She is?!"

"Yeah!"

And so, the two bonded over their favorite cartoon and their meal.

* * *

With stomachs full of pizza, the two decided to enter the shopping district.

"Kyaaa! Kuraima-san! Look at all these cute plushies!" Sola exclaimed, pressing her face up against the glass window of a nearby storefront.

Kuraima snickered. So she liked cute things and food.

…A fine combo.

"Hey, uh...there's a candy shop around the corner, they've got a lot of cute plushies there. Wanna go check it out?

She turned to look at him with _that_ look. "Y-Yes! L-Lead the way!"

* * *

When they entered the candy shop, they immediately set about picking their confectionary delights.

Suddenly, Kuraima noticed a familiar face.

Or, at least, the upper half of one.

"Oh, hey there Koneko-san. I didn't know you worked at the candy store."

"..." She just stared at him for a bit, her eyes barely passing over the countertop's height.

"...you don't, do you."

"Not at all."

"Then why are you behind the counter?"

She looked away. "...Not telling."

Kuraima shrugged. "...You do you, I suppose."

He then picked up a box of pocky. "Oooh, _Azur Lane_ collaboration box art. Don't mind if I do!"

* * *

Walking out with bags full of candy and a plushie of a chibi-fied Hatsune Miku, Sola wore a big, blushing smile on her face.

Kuraima had some bags of candy of his own and a noticeably lighter wallet.

Having come out of her shell, lured out by food and sweets, Helenski seemed to become an entirely different person.

The Astral student smiled. Sure, "love at first sight" wasn't a thing, but perhaps love on the first date?

Perhaps.

Perhaps it could happen.

He scrunched his nose.

' _The fuck is that smell? It smells like...fuck, I can't even describe it with words.'_

…

…

…

"Hey, Sola-san. How about some ice cream?"

"Y-Yes!"

* * *

The two, now walking closer to one another than before, approached the fountain in the middle of the park, where the two had met up hours before.

"Hey, Kuraima-san?" Sola asked, pausing to look at the fountain, with her back turned to him.

"Yes? What is it?"

She turned towards him, smiling. "I...I had a really good time today…"

The third-year student shrugged. "Me too. I didn't think it'd work out, y'know…I kinda only did this because my friends were teasing me about it. That, and I didn't really have much of anything going for me, because, uh...it's tough to explain."

He sighed, smiling.

"But you know what? I think we really hit it off. I'm already lookin' forward to our next outing together."

She blushed, looking away and once more twiddling her thumbs nervously.

"Y-Yeah, me too…"

Kuraima sat down on the bench, Sola eventually joining him. The two sat there, enjoying one another's company.

"So...see you soon?"

"Y-Yeah…see you around, Kuraima-san…"

* * *

As Kuraima walked away (with a noticeable spring in his step), Helenski watched until he turned the corner and left her sight.

She continued to sit there, in a lovesick trance.

" **There you are."**

The white-haired girl yelped, then relaxed when she saw the voice of the otherworldly voice; a white, round bird.

"Um.."

" **I will never truly understand how you mortals work. You've let that human worm his way into your mind, and now all you can do is fawn over him."**

"A...Ah...well..."

" **Yet, I cannot help but feel a sense of familiarity from him. I have felt this energy before, but…"**

…

…

…

" **No, 'tis only wishful thinking."**

"H-Huh?"

" **Think nothing of it. Let us return home."**

"...A-Alright…"

The bird then looked at the bags of candy that Helenski carried with her.

" **...Are those...are those gummy worms?"**

"Y...Yes…"

" **I implore that you share them with me as soon as possible."**

* * *

"That's the guy, right?"

"Has to be. The odds that he's got some kind of vigilante body double is incredibly fucking low."

"Aight. We found our guy. We gonna go after the girl, too?"

"Yeah. She must be worth a lot if they have to legally register her under the name of some random schmuck."

"Heh. We'll teach this town what it means to mess with _Eden's Sinners!"_

* * *

That night, Kuraima lay in bed, irresponsibly browsing on his phone at roughly 11:30 P.M.

 _ **Kuraima -**_ _hey rias_

 _ **Kuraima -**_ _are any important people I should know about besides you and sona?_

 _ **Kuraima -**_ _well, besides Jenny Hallows at least_

 _ **Rias -**_ _not that I know of, why?_

 _ **Kuraima -**_ _uuuh_

 _ **Kuraima -**_ _i don't know if i can tell you_

 _ **Kuraima -**_ _it's about the girl i went on a date with_

There was a good, long pause that spanned at least five minutes, maybe more.

 _ **Kuraima**_ _\- i don't feel like talking about it anymore_

 _ **Kuraima -**_ _I kinda feel bad just talking about it now, like I'm treading on her feelings._

 _ **Rias -**_ _I understand._

 _ **Rias -**_ _But if it's something that might be dangerous towards me, my territory, or my peerage, you NEED to tell me_

 _ **Kuraima -**_ _K, gotcha._

 _ **Kuraima -**_ _BTW do you know any good places for a second date_

 _ **Rias -**_ _Hm…_

 _ **Rias -**_ _There's a carnival coming around next weekend. How does that sound?_

 _ **Kuraima -**_ _Nice_

 _ **Kuraima -**_ _anyways gonna try to sleep now_

 _ **Kuraima -**_ _good night_

 _ **Rias -**_ _good night_


	9. Chapter 9

**That moment when Microsoft Edge doesn't support the usage of Grammarly in google docs so you have to manually reformat the entire thing.**

 **...Followed up by the realization that Grammarly works in the editor.**

 **Edit: Fixed some formatting issues near the end that had nothing to do with the Grammarly thing that involved confusing lines of dialog and such.**

* * *

 **Nobody really made any suggestions, but the selection for what Kuraima will get as a familiar in the Familiar Forest arc has been chosen by the dice gods.**

 **Who or what will it be? Who knows!**

 **Anyways, a bit of a filler chapter, the calm before the storm!**

 **REEEEEEEEEEview time**

 **Spazmatism - ok seriously how does an eyeball type**

 **Anyways, thank you for the name suggestions. A bit too late for Crabulon, but…I believe you may have just potentially saved me a lot of time.**

* * *

"Hey, so how'd it go?" Issei asked Kuraima as the two walked through the halls of Kuoh Academy.

"Dude, we hit it off really well. She's a lot like Asia. Except, the more food you give her, the more she warms up to you."

"Man! I'm both incredibly jealous and yet so proud of you, bro!"

Kuraima paused mid-step. "Wait, jealous? Don't...don't you have Asia-san?"

"...what?"

"You serious, Issei? I...you know what, forget I asked…"

"Oi! What are you talking about?"

"Too late, dumbass!"

"Hey! Get back here!"

Everyone watched the spectacle as Kuraima took off, leaving Issei behind.

It seemed like yesterday when the third year had berated the first year's ideals of becoming the Harem King™ and now the two were acting all buddy-buddy.

All they knew for certain is that you do not fuck with the new girl just transferred in. Aka, Asia Argento.

The last group of delinquents who tried to take advantage of her shy and naive personality…well…

* * *

 _"D-Demon!"_

 _"He's not fucking human!"_

 _"RUN FOR IT!"_

* * *

He just wanted to look a bit intimidating, so he had channeled his animosity into his **[Rage]** ability.

He might as have well channeled the fucking Doom Slayer. Who would've known that **[Rage]** had a passive pacification effect on normal humans?

Anyways, back to the here and now.

Kuraima finally allowed Issei to catch up to him, chuckling. "So, eh, you develop that _**[Boosted Gear]**_ at all?"

The reincarnated Devil shrugged and scratched the back of his head. "Haven't really had much time to practice. I can reach up to 4 boosts, kind of a hard cap, though."

"Gotta start somewhere, y' know? If it's doubling your power, then that means that once you reach full power, that's like what, a 16x multiplier?"

"...Yeah! You're right! Imagine how powerful I'll be by the time I become a High-class Devil!"

"Issei! Not in front of the normal people!"

"Haha...sorry."

* * *

Later at lunch, Kuraima held a light novel in one hand and a bento box in the other.

"Hey, Kuraima-san," Kiba said, taking a seat next to him.

"Oh hey there, Kiba-san."

"Watch are you reading there?"

"I decided to start reading the Halcyone series written by that guy who runs the Moonlit Cafè. Apparently, they're really good, and I can see why."

"Oh? I see…"

"It's absurd how much I can relate to the MC. We're both blessed by cosmic deities, both socially awkward— albeit in different ways— and we both have a crippling addiction to Hot Pockets. It's almost like he's a self-insert of me."

"...I see."

Kuraima then turned serious. "Say, can you do me a favor, Kiba?"

"Sure thing. What is it you need?"

"Can you teach me swordsmanship? I've decided that I need to get better at defending myself but I don't have the guts to ask the Kendo Club girls…"

…

…

…

"Hm...alright. I'm probably far from being the best teacher, but I'll see what I can do."

"Aight. Thanks, dude."

"Anytime."

* * *

 **[Later that week, on Wednesday…]**

"Keep your stance steady. Yeah, spread your legs apart like that— little too much. There! That'll do. Now, keep swinging!"

Just when Kuraima thought that the weird visions of "not-Kuriama" were over, here they were, bleeding over into his tutoring session with Kiba.

"You're getting the hang of this rather quickly, Kuraima-san."

The Astral student looked at Kiba. "I am?" Then, he looked at the series of slash marks on the hay-filled training dummy in front of him. In his hand, a wooden sword. Nothing too fancy, just a generic training blade.

…

…

…

"Huh. So it seems."

"Though, you seem to be...staring off in space while you do it."

"Ah, well, you see...I've been having these strange visions as of recently. Had them ever since the first time I went to the Moonlit Cafè."

"Oh? That sounds...interesting."

He thought for a moment. "You know, it's weird. They showed up last time I was training. Now that I think about it, they usually show up when I work up a sweat. Either that or when I go to sleep."

"They're always somewhat the same, too. I find myself in the body of this samurai guy. Sometimes our actions line up, but most of the time I'm just spectating. I can look around freely, though."

"There's also this other guy. He looks like a robot, has this red mechanical armor and has these weird cyan neon eyes that glow. I lowkey wanna call him Sans Undertale, except it's both eyes that glow. I think he's some kind of mentor because the samurai dude keeps calling him 'sensei'."

Kuraima sighed. The people in his vision had yet to actually address each other by name, yet there was something infuriatingly familiar about them.

"...I see. Have you told anyone else about these?"

"Just my housemate. She's...how do I say this…"

…

…

…

"Fuck it. She's a Stray Devil."

"She's a WHAT?!"

"Hey! Hey! Chill! Chill! You don't need to get up in arms. She's not gonna start anything! I beat her ass twelve ways to Sunday! The only reason that she's still alive is that I couldn't bring myself to finish the job!"

"...Fine. Continue?"

"Anyways, I had a vision of the samurai fighting a massive beast with almost the same exact qualities as she did. She showed up in the middle of that vision and...uh, to say the least, now she eats all my food and I'm pretty sure she's using my basement to horde less than legal goods. But uh, she's a really good craftsman. And she pays the rent. Though, now that I think about it, she might be bribing me…"

Kuraima paused. "Wait, I'm getting off-topic. Back to visions. Anyways, I had them when we fought Raynare. I…"

…

…

…

Kuraima's voice became rather somber. "I...had a vision of the samurai...he was in a cathedral…" He paused. "When...when Asia died, I saw a little girl I didn't know. She had a health bar, like the kind you see in video games. I...I watched it hit zero while the samurai held her in his arms."

…

…

…

"I…I see." The pretty boy responded. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, Many higher-end Sacred Gears can only be wielded by a single person on the entire planet, so when they get passed on, sometimes these gears will hold memories of their previous wielder. Perhaps that could be the case with yours?"

"I….Maybe? I highly doubt it, though. From what I learned in that dream where I talked with Astrum Deus, I'm supposed to be the first one to get this piece. But if it's true that I'm not the first wielder of _**[Stella Dominus]**_ , then something's just not adding up, and…"

…

…

…

"Oh my fucking god."

"W-What?" The Knight piece asked as he flinched from Kuraima's usage of the g-word.

"That man in red was speaking the lyrics of _The Stains of Time_!"

"...I see?"

"...Sorry. Uh, back to sword training?"

"Uh, sure."

* * *

 **Kuraima has leveled up his [Melee] Proficiency!**

* * *

Not much else happened over the remainder of the week. Nothing of importance, anyways.

Soon, the time came for the Astral student's second date.

By the end of the night, it would certainly be an unforgettable experience.

But not for the reasons one might expect...

* * *

 **[That Saturday…]**

Kuraima once again approached the fountain, the one where he and Helenski had met before.

And there she was, waiting for him.

"Hey there, Sola-san."

"H-Hey…"

"So, the carnival's in town." Kuraima said as he shrugged, "How about we go check it out, just you and me?"

"Aa...I…"

"We can get some cotton candy…"

Ah, that look in her eyes. "Yes, please!"

The two of them set off together, towards the bright flashing lights of the carnival.

* * *

"Nice shootin', kiddo!" The staff member behind the counter of one of the many games stations that had been set up around the park. "Pick any medium-sized prize ya want!"

The Astral student chose one of the many animal plushies on display, and once he received it, immediately handed it off to Helenski who added it to her collection of assorted prizes being held in her arms.

"Not bad, eh?" He quipped, putting down the cork gun as the two left to find something else to do.

Suddenly, Kuraima had an idea. "Wanna ride the Ferris wheel? I've never really tried one before, so…"

She perked up for a moment, blushing. "W...W-Well…"

* * *

Now, the two were sitting next to each other as the great mechanical wheel hoisted their carriage into the air.

"Oh...this is nice!" Kuraima said, looking out through the window. "You can see pretty far!"

"R-Really?" His date asked, peering out the window with him. "W-Wow…!"

Kuraima leaned back in his seat. "Hey, Sola-san…can...can you do something for me?"

"Huh?"

The Astral Student held out an empty hand. "Hold this."

"...Huh? B-But there's…"

Her face turned many shades of red that shouldn't have been physically possible for the human body when she realized what he meant.

…

…

…

"Y-You want to hold hands?!"

"Eeyup."

"..."

"S-Sure…"

The white-haired girl blushed and looked away shyly as the couple's fingers slowly interlocked with one another.

Kuraima, on the other hand, had a big cheeky grin on his face.

"Hey, it's not so bad, y' know?"

"N...Nnnn-no! It's...not...so b-bad…"

The two sat there, watching the landscape as the Ferris wheel continued to gently spin them around.

* * *

"Heh, did I ever tell you how well you pull off the 'freckled bespectacled cutie' look?"

"A-Ah…"

The two were now walking back to their usual meet-up area, the Astral Student teasing the platinum-haired girl with compliments. Neither of them really paid attention to the fact that this place was rather empty, even though the carnival was in full swing.

"So, d-does this...make us…?"

"Boyfriend and girlfriend? Sure, why not. I think we've hit it off really well. It's almost like we were meant to be together, y' know?"

La Sola looked away nervously. "I...I suppose…"

…

…

…

Then, she turned back towards him, twiddling her thumbs. "Kuraima-san...Can...Can I tell you something?"

"...Sure?"

"W...W-Well, I know everyone has their secrets...and...you've been so nice to me...but…"

She wasn't able to finish her confession, as the ground began to shake.

"Wh—?!"

A massive purple worm came shooting up from the ground, knocking the couple away from one another as they struggled to regain their footing.

" _ **Grrrrooooooar!"**_

"What the actual fuck!?" Kuraima yelled, reaching into his pocket to pull out his retractable baton— the only weapon he really felt comfortable carrying in public.

"Hm. I missed." An ethereal female voice called out as its source walked out from the bushes. "It'd be lame if you had died in one shot." She taunted, her voice turning normal as she revealed herself.

She wore a large purple trench coat, the trims lined up with rows of large, sickly worm teeth, not unlike those of Matilda's.

The giant worm retreated through the hole in the ground, reeling itself back in and shrinking as it took the form of a worm-shaped scarf around the attacker's neck.

"What the hell is your problem?!"

"Oh, as much as I'd love to say that it's nothing personal, it's quite the contrary. You blew up everything we had worked so hard for!"

…

…

…

Kuraima...was confused, to say the least. "I did?"

"Don't play dumb with me, you little shit! You're the one who took out our meth lab! Our pride and joy!"

The Astral Student gave Helenski an ' _Are you seeing this shit'_ look, though this seemed to unsettle her more than she was before by this strange turn of events.

"Aight, listen. I legitimately have no clue what you're talking about. Well, okay, yeah, I know the meth lab blew up, it's in the fucking news, go cry me a river. But look at me!" He gestured to himself. "Do I look like the kind of person who could pull it off?!"

…

…

…

"Well...no…"

"Good. Glad to see that diplomacy has—"

"But you know what? That's probably the whole point!" She responded, pointing at him. "What better disguise is there other than some unassuming highschool brat!"

"You overestimate my power!"

"That matters not! I'll just have to beat the shit out of you!"

"My name is Eatah, the _**Eater of Worlds**_!"

The scarf once more transformed into a massive segmented worm with countless eyes, roaring as it

"And this is my Sacred Gear, _**[Corruptus Vermis]**_!"

 _ **Eatah, the wielder of [Corruptus Vermis] has awoken!**_


	10. Worms 2: Electric Boogaloo

**Shoutout to the Calamity Lore Server on Discord for helping me write this story.**

 **Unfortunately, I would also like to let y'all know that the Calamity mod is about to undergo a big lore overhaul at some undefined point in the future, and I'm not sure how it might affect the story.**

 **Only time will tell, I suppose.**

* * *

 **review corner**

 **Spazmatism - you gotta share that story with us fam**

 **Zapper - the dialog bit should be fixed now**

* * *

 **Edit: Added a small teaser to the end.**

* * *

Kuraima rolled out of the way as the scarf-turned-monster charged at him with its gaping maw wide open.

' _Damnit! A sharp weapon would be really good right about now!'_ He thought to himself, as he gave the worm a strong _thwack_ with his baton, which really didn't do much except mildly rustling its jimmies.

' _I'm gonna need some time to build my Rage up. Maybe my Adrenaline, too— I haven't had a chance to actually use that one. Better late than never!'_

" **Astrum Bless!"** Kuraima called out, causing _**[Stella Dominus]**_ to manifest as his baton began to glow with Astral Energy.

* * *

Helenski gasped when she saw the medallion materialize out of nowhere.

Well, that at least addressed the issue of whether or not Kuraima was familiar with the world of the supernatural.

Now, onto more pressing matters…

* * *

The Astral Student quickly found himself in a repetitive loop.

Dodge, thwack, dodge, whack.

Though the beast was getting bruised with each hit, so there was at least some improvement.

"Hoh? You're still standing? Looks like I will have to switch things up!"

The Eater's jaws gripped the ground, anchoring itself as it hoisted Eatah into the air, where neon green flames formed in one hand, and a vile-looking spitball in the other.

"Haaaah!" She released a battlecry, throwing a fireball at him. It was pretty slow, so he was able to dodge it quite easily.

However, when it landed in the fountain's water pool, the water rippled quite violently, as if being displaced by the eldritch flames.

" _Hohohoho~_ Gaze upon my Cursed Flames! Not even water can extinguish them!"

Oh, so it's not ' _as if'._ As a matter of fact, it _was_ displacing the water as it boiled it on the spot, leaving little to no room to bubble up.

…..Kuraima's face turned pale. If that shit struck him, he'd be in for a world of hurt.

' _A-Alright, just...be calm...and distract her until my abilities charge up.'_

"...O-Okay, but what's the spitball do?"

"...Excuse me?"

"The spitball! What the fuck does it do?!"

"What do you _mean_?! It's just a spitball!" She threw it at him, where he kinda just stepped to the side due to its surprisingly slow speed.

"...Oh, okay. Good to know!" He swung his baton, causing one of the many eyes on the Eater's body to pop like a balloon.

 _Whack!_

"Hey! Don't attack me while I'm distracted!"

"Name one better time to attack!"

"Heh, nice try, but witty remarks won't get you anywhere!"

She swung around, firing a mixture of Cursed Flames and Vile Spitballs at the Astral Champion, who did his best to just simply move out of the way.

"You can't hop around forever!" She jeered at him, landing on the ground as she sent her worm beast burrowing beneath the surface. Moments later, it popped up out of the ground, sending Kuriama stumbling until he completely lost his balance and fell over.

"Kuraima!" Sola-san called out in worry, which unfortunately brought the worm master's attention to her. The wicked girl grinned as the sickening sounds of meat being torn came from behind as the worm _doubled_ in length and detached itself from Eatah's scarf.

"Ohoh? You're still here? We were told about you…" She put a hand to her chin, as if deep in thought. "Ah, yes, apparently you're very important, in more ways than one~!"

She waltzed over to the short platinum-haired girl with a somewhat exaggerated swaying of the hips. Meanwhile, Kuraima scrambled around, trying to avoid the now-loose worm.

"A hostage and revenge, now that's a combo meal if I ever heard one~" Eatah cooed, gently stroking a lock of Sola's hair.

Her victim stood there, frozen in fear, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Tell me, little girl...what secrets do you hold?"

* * *

Once more, the visions returned.

"Kuraima" found himself in a wicked purple landscape, one that reeked of rot and other forms of sinnery.

The worm "Not-Kuraima" was fighting was several times bigger than whatever Eatah was controlling. However, the "faker" was using a different sword than last time; a short blade whose appearance seemed to ignore the proper lighting, refusing to reflect any light short of the brightest of shines.

 **[Bane of Light]**

Of course, the faker seemed to struggle just as much like the real deal, given the blade's short-range.

" _Do you see, my student?"_ The man in the mechanical red armor said, who had his arms crossed once more as he watched over his pupil. " _You won't always have the chance to choose your battles. This may be a little extreme for a hands-on lesson, but given how Terraria works...well, who knows? This might pale in comparison."_

The man smiled and shrugged. " _Aye, but if you're struggling...well, a good warrior takes advantage of his or her surroundings."_ He smirked, his eyes indicatively darting between the samurai-wannabe and a dense patch of thorns growing out of the ground.

With that, Kuraima had an idea.

* * *

" **[Third Eye]!** " Kuraima called out, activating his wall-hack ability. In his vision, the world revealed its secrets.

The Eater of Worlds became fully visible, and so did the ground below.

Jackpot! His power was able to detect the presence of electrical cables running beneath the ground.

If he could lure the beast and trick it into biting the wires…

"Come at me!" The Astral Student called, trying to goad the Eater. The beast curled around to let its innumerable eyes get a solid gaze upon him, as if wary of something.

Roaring, it charged at him, so he just jumped out of the way as the beast dug into the ground.

All according to kekaiku! **[TN's note: Keikaku means plan]**

The Eater dove straight into the trap, biting into thick, highly dangerous electrical cabling, causing the nearby park lamps to flicker wildly.

An unexpectedly high-pitched squeal emanated from the worm as it seized up, shriveled, and finally collapsed, slowly fading away in coagulated flakes of dust.

"Whew…" He wiped the sweat off of his brow. "That was...easy."

"Aah! Get your hands off of me!"

He spun around to see Sola deliver a solid punch straight into Eatah's face. When the purple gal finally regained her footing, she pulled her hand away to reveal a bloody nose.

"You _**BITCH! You're gonna pay for that!"**_ She screeched, pulling a knife.

" _Ahem."_

When she began to turn her head, Kuraima _slammed_ his baton into her face, creating a visible shockwave as several teeth flew outwards. From there, she straight up collapsed like a bag of rocks.

 **Eatah** _ ** _,_**_ **the wielder of** _ **[Corruptus Vermis]**_ **has been defeated!**

* * *

 _ **Conditions have been met.**_

 _Deep inside_ _ **[Stella Dominus]**_ _, something stirred._

 _Glowing silver chains extended ad infinitum into the void of the soul, all while converging at a single point._

 _Two rather symmetrical chains turned bright gold and promptly shattered._

 _A pair of amber eyes opened and briefly gazed into the void, before slumbering once more._

* * *

"It's...it's over! We did it…!" Helenski exclaimed, looking up at the Astral Student.

"Yeah...I suppose we did…" Then, he looked down at his clearly visible Sacred Gear. "...I guess I have some explaining to do...heh."

Sola looked away shyly. "No…it's okay...you see, I—"

 _ **WHAM!**_

Helenski screamed as Kuraima went flying several feet through the air and landed in the fountain, courtesy of the flesh-colored tendril that just smashed into him.

"It's never that easy, you naive little imbecile."

Out of the bushes came a red-haired woman, donning a solid red tank-top and some equally red shorts.

Writhing and coiling behind her were three worm-like tendrils of various sizes that snapped at anything that moved, including each other.

She looked towards the fountain where the third-year student landed. "The name is Perfa, you should do your best to keep that name in your tiny noob brain for as long as you live. This is my Sacred Gear, _**[Parasitus Minuo]**_ , also known as the **Perforators** _._ I'm going to beat you to death. Are you ready?"

Kuraima pulled himself up, absolutely drenched. "Is...is that a threat?"

"No, it's a promise."

"Ah, I see. Not if I can beat you to it!"

"As in me beating you? Or you beating me?"

…

…

...

Kuraima shrugged. "Yes."

 _'That line was a lot wittier in my head.'_

 **Perfa, the wielder of** _ **[Parasitus Minuo],**_ **has abruptly awoken!**

Perfa began floating in the air through some unknown means, detaching and launching the smallest of her worm tendrils at Kuraima.

' _Me and my big fuckin' mouth...I'm getting tired. Why does my body feel so hot?'_

He scrambled to escape, trudging through the ankle-height water as fast as he could, grimacing as the "small" worm scored a glancing blow.

' _Damnit, I dropped my baton…'_

"Please, just sit down and give it up. Your resistance won't amount to anything but more pain and suffering."

Thankfully, his baton was still glowing, meaning he was able to easily locate it, so he grabbed it and jumped out of the fountain.

"Kuraima-san! Look out!"

But it was too late, for the student was struck by a glowing ball of red flame from above.

He screamed as his entire body felt like it was burning.

"How do you like it?! My Blood Flame is one of a kind! I'll boil you alive as your own body destroys itself from the inside!"

She then sat down on the fountain's edge, smiling smugly and crossing her arms. "But no, I won't stop there! My precious worms will tear you apart as well!"

Kuraima struggled to get up, only to be sent spiraling as the "small" worm slammed into his shoulder.

Sola ran over to his side, crouching down next to him.

"Ku-san! _Ku-san!_ "

Kuraima held back the tears. "My...my arm! I...I can't feel it…!"

"Ah...don't worry...Everything's gonna be fine…!" She mumbled to herself putting a hand on the wound.

"Oi! Girl!" Perfa snapped. "Move it, or lose it! You're just a damsel in distress! What could you possibly hope to accomplish!"

"I...I-I…"

"Hey! LOOK AT ME WHEN I TALK TO YOU! You shortass white-haired little _bitch!_ "

The untethered worm circled around, seeking to gore them on its boney proboscis. It lunged at them…

...only to get utterly smashed from above.

"W-What?!" The red-wearing adversary gasped, as the dust settled to that the worm's head had been squashed like a grape under Koneko's metaphorical boot, turning to ash just as the Eater of Worlds had done.

"You," She halfheartedly pointed at Perfa, "Take that back. Final warning."

"What? But...you're...HOW THOUGH?! You're so fucking short! You're...you're like the literal size of a child! That should not…what the fuck are you?!"

"R-Rook power, sista." Kuraima groaned out. "You had your chance to monologue as they always do in anime, but now it's my turn to play the Speedwagon."

He grinned through the pain, ignoring the fact that his arm was regaining feeling at a rather strange pace.

"Had you f-fucking goons done your research, you would've known that this town is the territory of TWO Devil clans! High-ranking ones, at that."

Perfa's face blanched.

"As the Rook, Koneko has immense physical strength! And...that's…shit, how the fuck do you villain types manage to get an entire paragraph's worth of dialogue just to describe your powers?"

The Astral student chuckled.

"Oh yeah, did you know that whenever you comment about her height, she grows in power!"

The Perforator queen opened her mouth to respond, before just kinda blanking out.

"Wait, is that...really her power?"

…

"Find out for yourself!" He didn't have the willpower to tell her that this is a normal ability almost all short people had, at least not in front of Koneko.

Kuraima's arm twitched as he found himself regaining control of it. "Huh, weird." He looked up at Helenski. "Did...did you work some magic there?"

Sola just looked away shyly. "U-Uhm…"

The Astral Student shrugged. "Eh, you can explain later, we're kinda in the middle of a fight."

He stood up, the jeweled nodes representing his **[Rage]** and **[Adrenaline]** glowing like stars in the sky.

The student looked down at the ground, spying Eatah's knife.

' _Jackpot.'_

* * *

" **[Bless!]** "

Kuraima's stolen knife glowed with power as it plunged into the tumor-filled body of Perfa's second worm.

" _ **Wrrrrrryyyy!"**_

The Champion of Earth activated his **[Rage]!**

It took both hands in order not to lose his grip on the blade, even with his enhanced strength, as the beast's momentum worked against itself to leave a huge gash across its side. The worm came crashing down, where Koneko gave it a strong punch that causes various bodily fluids to go flying outwards.

The Perforator Queen winced as she saw the second worm finally go down.

"S-Stay back!" She held the last of her worms up defensively, like a snake trying to ward off a predator.

"Hey, Koneko. You haven't explained why you came here."

"Smelled like Fallen. Smelled it back at the candy shop too."

"...Are you trying to tell me that those fuckers are still up to something?"

"Not likely." She deadpanned, smacking the absolute unit of a Perforator aside when it lunged for her. "Smelled an even fouler stench. It was following you back then too."

Kuraima dug his knife into the Perfarator's main eye, spurting foul orange juices all over the place.

"I think I can see why." He nodded towards Perfa.

His short classmate grabbed the worm by the teeth, pulling Perfa into the air.

"Nooooo! Let gooOOOOO!" The worm master struggled to get the final worm to separate from her body. She was successful and started using her apparent levitation power to slow her movements through the air.

"Kuraima-san." Koneko called out. The Astral Student looked at her, and somehow, the two knew exactly what had to be done.

The shorty held her arms out as Kuraima ran up to her. He hopped, and she responded by lifting her arms, using her Rook strength to send him flying into the air.

* * *

Perfa finally righted herself, wiping the dust off of her clothes. If she could just make her escape, maybe, just maybe…

All of her hopes were dashed when out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kuraima flying towards her, enchanted baton in hand.

" **URAAAAAAAAAH!"**

He roared, activating his **[Adrenaline]** which engulfed him in a menacing green aura, blending in with the vestiges of his deep red **[Rage].**

"Monologue about this, _bitch."_

Time seemed to slow as he swung his baton with extreme prejudice. It hit her straight in the stomach, causing Perfa to spit up blood as one of her lower ribs cracked from being near the epicenter of the impact.

The force of the blow sent her cratering into the tiled pathway. She ceased moving, save for the occasional twitch and her desperate gasps for fresh air.

* * *

Kuraima landed, inspecting his handiwork as the rush from his power boosts wore out.

"Ah...that's…" He sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "...heh...I actually feel kinda bad now…"

 **Perfa, the wielder of** _**[Parasitus Minuo]**_ **has been defeated!**

The exhaustion finally caught up to him. "Whew...that...was a tough one. Sure am glad I had the two of you, huh?"

Helenski giggled nervously while twiddling her thumbs, meanwhile, Koneko half-heartedly shrugged.

"Well, we both have some explaining to do. So, no time like the present. Who's going first?"

" _We will."_

"Oh, come the fuck on!" Kuraima shouted upon hearing the unknown voice. "When will it _fucking_ end?!"

The trio backed up against one another, frantically looking around for the speaker.

" **[Third Eye]!"** The Astral Champion called out, trying to find the enemy.

Instead, he found the enem _ies_.

Dozens of large floating eyes stared back at him from every direction in the trees surrounding them.

' _No…'_

' _No.'_

' _No.'_

' _NO.'_

' _NO. NO. NO.'_

Two young adult males, both appearing to be roughly Kuraima's age, suddenly... _teleported_ into the area, standing in front of the park's fountain.

Like the two girls that preceded them, they both wore outfits made up almost entirely of a single color, those being red and purple on each respective individual.

One wore a red lab coat that wove in the breeze as he menacingly stared down our heroes.

The other looked like a straight-up homeless person, with unkempt greasy hair and equally dirty-looking purple robes. Or, at least, mostly purple…

"Young adolescent male," the one in red began, "We've given you many a chance to repent for your unwarranted mayhem that resulted in the computer and utterly violent dismantling of our methamphetamine manufacturing facility, costing us massive losses in revenue and an especially huge blow to our collective morale. As such, we demand immediate retribution for your tomfoolery, lest our authoritative ringleader takes disciplinary actions against us."

"...What?"

"Eh, just ignore him." The purple hobo shrugged. "Thinks he's super intelligent because his brain _is_ his Sacred Gear. Except he just uses big words, totally different thing."

"..." The trio just stared at them.

"...Less talk, more fighting?"

"...Yeah, let's go with that."

… **W-What?!**

 **Smar Tass, the wielder of** _**[Sanguis Cerebrum]**_ **and Laye Z, the wielder of** _**[Parasitus Cerebrum]...**_

 **...have awoken…!**

 **When will it end?!**

…

…

…

 **To be concluded in the next chapter!**

* * *

A figured wearing a large brown cloak that obscured their figure inspected the ashes that remained of the warehouse which Kuraima had been accused of destroying.

They sighed, pulling their arms out from the secretive covers of their cloak, revealing a pair of bracelets. One containing a glossy red-orange gem, and the other a deep purple.

"Hmph. If you want something done right..."

The two orbs both began to secrete a strange, slime-like substance that dripped onto the blackened ground.

"...then do it yourself.


	11. Oh Yeah, It's Big Brain Time

The two strange men floated into the air, their minion horde pouring out of the woods surrounding the area, gathering behind them.

"Advance!" Smar called out, pointing at the trio. "My Creepers! Bludgeon them into fragments!"

The large eye-looking creatures charged, aiming to swarm their enemies to death.

With a baton in one and a borrowed knife in the other, Kuraima once more took a combat stance. He swung the former, smashing into the uncomfortably delicate tissue and popping it like a balloon.

Koneko threw her arms up in an X formation, using her Rook abilities to tank the damage. Then she swung outwards, bashing several of the eye monsters.

Helenski kinda just froze up in fear, even though none of the Creepers targeted her.

The Astral Student grit his teeth, still feeling a little sore from his previous fights. "Damnit! One problem after another!"

He turned upon hearing the sound of some rather nasty coughing fits. "K-Koneko-san?!"

The little girl was hunched over, a hand over her mouth as small amounts of blood seeped between her fingers.

"W-What the hell?!"

"Po...poisoned…" She managed to rasp out between coughs. "Don't touch...They're...coated in different types of poison..."

Oh.

Oh god, oh fuck.

He grabbed Koneko by the arm and pulled her out of the way of a small group of five Creepers attempting to ram her.

"Koneko! Can you hear me?"

"Muuh…"

"Sola-san! Can you do that healing thing like what you did for my arm?"

"A-Ah...I can try…"

Kuraima nodded. "Good enough for me. Koneko, once you get healed up, find yourself a weapon."

"Alright…"

Kuraima faced towards the Brain of Cthulhu person (He's not sure where that name came from), scowling as his **[Rage]** filled ever so slightly faster.

The red man smirked, suddenly disappearing.

"Kuraima-san! To the left!"

The student turned to see Smar rematerializing, his fist reared back and more than ready to deck him across the face.

Thanks to Helenski's warning, he was able to make his counterattack and swung his baton, slamming it into the brainiac's abdomen. Hard.

While Smar was recoiling, Kuraima followed up with another savage blow, beating the shit out of Mr. Thesaurus until he managed to teleport away.

Smar reappeared next to Laye, nursing his wounds.

"Assist me, you obsolescent neanderthal!"

The hobo man shrugged. "Sorry, dude. Kinda figured you had it in the bag there."

Smar grabbed him by the shirt collar and began shaking him. "EVEN LITERAL DOG _EXCREMENT_ WOULD BE MORE FAVORABLE THAN _YOU_ RIGHT NOW!"

Laye smiled half-heartedly even as he was being violently jostled. "Okay, maybe I'll do something. But only if I get extra nap time."

He turned to Kuraima, and cleared his throat.

"Hey, kiddo. I'm sorry that I gotta do this, but...uh...it's nothing personal, aight? At least, nothing between me and you. I hope."

Laye halfheartedly chuckled.

"Now let's _**get right to it."**_

Armored, gnarled eyeball monsters gathered around him, a swarm of green pupils staring down the Astral Champion.

"Good luck, pal. You're gonna need it."

Laye's Dank Creepers rushed at Kuraima. Not really anything different compared to Smar's Creepers, at least in terms of strategy.

In response, the Astral Champion swung his baton as he tried to move out of the way.

Key word being tried.

One of the Dank's horns scratched Kuraima, but it was all that was needed to set his arm on fire.

"GuuuuaaaaAAAAAAH!"

It was a very little fire, one that could be put out with a few hard smacks.

Except Kuraima found himself unable to smother the flames, no matter how hard he tried, for it was the same type of fire that Eatah had used.

And it hurt like hell.

* * *

Koneko found her entire body feeling reinvigorated as Helenski held her close, a strange green flame— much darker than Eatah's and Laye's cursed flames— covering her body.

"W...What magic is this…?"

Helenski sighed. "W-Well...it's...a little complicated…This is one of the abilities of...my...my Sacred Gear…"

"A variant of **Twilight Healing**?"

"No...no...it's just a minor ability…my Sacred Gear lets me control a special type of fire…this is just a secondary ability the...spirit inside taught me how to use."

Koneko gave her the usual thousand-mile stare.

"...O-Okay! Fine! I'm—"

Kuraima's blood-curdling scream interrupted her as more Dank Creepers struck his body, setting him ablaze.

' _This…this is ridiculous…!'_

Tears welled up in her eyes as she saw the man she had grown to love being tormented in such a horrid fashion.

Something snapped inside of Helenski.

' _No more!'_

Koneko's eyes widened as the normally shy girl suddenly clenched her fists, the air growing warm at an alarming rate.

Sola grabbed a piece of rock, a piece of debris created by Eatah's rampage. It cracked like an egg, which startled Koneko because she didn't expect that at all.

" _Stop it!_ " With that desperate plea, she threw her payload.

She might as well have been an 18th-century cannon firing grapeshot down a corridor full of enemy soldiers.

They struck a tight group of Smar's Creepers, who were attempting to pummel Kuraima while he was down.

The eye monsters detonated into showers of gore, but the carnage didn't stop there. Her projectiles kept going, only halting when they embedded themselves inside the fountain.

"W-What the actual fuck!?" Smar screamed, breaking away from his normal character.

"Duuuuude."

The fragment suddenly began to glow a dim orange, brightening until they exploded, arcing strange magical energies through the air that chopped through the gangsters' minions like a knife through boiled eggs.

The fountain was gone, all that was left was a large spout spraying water into the air, which came back down as a light mist.

Koneko's stoic facade was broken. "Wh...What…?"

Unfurling behind Kuraima's girlfriend was a pair of wings.

A pair of _feathered_ _bat wings._

The wings of a _true Nephilim._

Koneko had heard about these. While it was pretty rare for Fallen Angels to be reincarnated into Devils, they didn't count as Nephilim as Reincarnated Devils, simply put, are just people artificially altered to have the traits of a Devil. If anything, Reincarnates were more of a subspecies.

Nephilim, on the other hand, were _biological_ hybrids. The aftermath of taboo union between (Fallen) Angel and pureblood Devil. The best of both worlds, without the latter's inherent weakness to Holy energies.

Nobody could say how many have been born in the past _decade._ Most supernatural races, with lifespans easily in the late hundreds to even thousands _,_ have incredibly low fertilization rates compared to humans.

A baby being born from two different species? Especially Devils and Fallen? Statistically, you'd be more likely to get attacked by a shark than successfully conceive a Nephilim.

Not only that but the mere rumor that someone harbored or birthed a Nephilim could destroy one's reputation in Devil Society beyond any hope of recovery. As such, most Nephilim children are abandoned or straight up killed, provided that the incompatibility of two very different magics killed either the mother or the child first.

Her very existence wasn't a proverbial landmine— she was the _entire damn minefield_.

Something still didn't add up, but Koneko just couldn't…quite…

Oh...yeah... _only humans can be born with Sacred Gears._

"What the hell are you?!" Smar screamed, pointing at her, "You...You're a monster! A glitch of the natural order!"

Helenski visibly recoiled at his words.

"Laye! Activate phase 2!"

"Eh? Seriously?"

"JUST DO IT."

"Ugh, fine, but I get the whole weekend off."

The two threw off their overcoats, revealing the horrors that revealed within.

Smar's chest was wide open, revealing a beating heart, with a living, blinking eyeball on one of its chambers.

Laye didn't look any better. His chest and stomach were both split down the middle with rows of gnarled teeth that just barely interlocked with one another. The only thing keeping him from splitting in twain might've just been his spine.

Inhuman roars filled the air as the two teleported away, only to reappear close to Helenski.

* * *

Kuraima was laying on the ground, totally exhausted.

He no longer had the willpower to get back up and fight.

All that filled his mind was the sheer agony that had been inflicted upon him.

Deep down inside of him, his soul dimmed, utterly crushed by his overwhelming defeat.

" _Hey."_

No response from Kuraima.

" _You're gonna get up, right?"_

The Astral Student looked up, seeing nothing but a black void.

" _Come on. You've got a lot to live for."_

Everything seemed to glitch out. He suddenly found himself in the middle of a burning village, on the ground, looking up at the familiar visage of the man in the mechanical red armor. Gunfire echoed in the distance, broken up by the sounds of guttural screams and the sounds of rapid-fire blasts.

' _What kind of bootleg Shirou Emiya backstory is this?'_

" _Your mom and dad are safe. A bit roughed up, but it's nothing a healing potion can't fix."_

The man's smile was even warmer than the air as he lifted his right arm, which burst into flames and materialized a shield that vaporized...what Kuraima was sure was a _tank shell_. Didn't even have time to explode.

Several flaming spears appeared in the air behind the man, sorta like Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon.

 **[Daybreak Prototype]**

' _ **crimson skies bear the torch; our sun**_

 _ **today, my love, we'll be as one'**_

The Daybreaks shot out, absolutely obliterating whatever just tried to attack him.

" _Come on. You wanna be strong, right? Then take my hand."_

Slowly, but surely, Kuraima raised his hand, and accepted the man's gesture.

" _Attaboy."_

Everything seemed to 'glitch' as instead, Kuraima found himself staring face-to-face with the Wannabe-Samurai.

Except...he was staring at an honest-to-god _mirror image_ , save for a long, thin scar that ran _straight_ down the middle of his face and neck.

The mysterious samurai smiled. " _I knew you'd come around."_

The Astral Student's body began to warm up as glowing hairline streaks began to form across his body, starting at his hands and trailing up his arms until they covered his entire body.

It felt...weird, yet...somehow not wrong.

* * *

 **TerrariaUI_V5.6 initialized…**

 _ **[Third Eye]**_ **has been upgraded with the passive ability** _ **[Appraisal]**_

 _ **[Inventory]**_ **unlocked.**

 **User data downloaded.**

 **Name: Sensou Kuraima**

 **Age: 17**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Health:120/200**

 **Mana: 100/100**

 **Rage: 4500/10000**

 **Adrenaline: 75/1000**

* * *

" _Go on. Reach out. Destiny awaits, Champion of Earth."_

"Wait, who the hell are you? You're not _Astrum Deus_!"

" _I'm afraid my time here is up."_

Kuraima desperately reached out as the samurai faded into purple motes of light.

"H-Hey! Wait!"

' _I'll see you when you break the next seal.'_

He clenched his fist, scowling. "Damnit, he disappeared…"

Looking back out into the endless void of blackness, Kuraima took a deep breath. "Reach out, huh?"

Once again, he extended his arm...and something began to take shape.

The hilt of a sword materialized. It was a dull gray, resembling an untextured 3D model.

Quickly, the Astral Student grasped it, getting into the stance that Kiba had taught him a few days ago. As he did, the rest of the sword began to form.

The pommel formed, resembling a miniaturized version of _**[Stella Dominus]**_ , albeit without the somewhat pointy outer half-rings.

Next, the blade— a strong, sturdy broadsword; A neon orange edge with a silver-colored fuller and a finely pointed tip.

* * *

 **Item Identified: Sidus**

 **Type: Melee**

 **Average knockback**

 **Average Speed**

' _ **A unique sword, created by the user's will, shaped by desire, fortified by need, and powered by the stars above.'**_

' _ **The North Star watches. When powered with magic, this sword calls for aid from the heavens.'**_

* * *

Helenski dodged yet another strike as the wielder of _**[Sanguis Cerebrum]**_ repeated warped around her, trying to bludgeon her with his martial arts skills.

"Remain in a stationary position, abomination!"

Helenski held the power to easily wipe the floor with these guys, and then some.

So why didn't she fight back?

The answer was simple; she was afraid of _killing_ them.

Her previous attack was already enough to be legitimately classified as multiple war crimes.

While she ducked under Laye's punch, Smar moved in for a roundhouse kick.

Only to be halted in his tracks when an armored hand grabbed his leg mid-swing.

" _ **Hands off…"**_

Kuraima was standing there, his burn wounds disappearing as his body healed at a rapid pace.

But now, instead of his casual clothing, he was more prepared for a fight.

Chainmail covered his body. A pair of greaves with oversized poleyns (knee pads) covered his lower legs, with large, boot-like sabatons.

His lower arms were protected with gauntlets, dotted in orange orbs.

" _ **...of MY GIRL!"**_

Smar found himself being decked in the face, thrown through the air by the impact.

 **Buff:** _ **Astral Page (Incomplete Balance Breaker)**_

' _ **This won't last long, but it should be enough.'**_

 _ **Increased overall strength and health regeneration**_

 _ **Time remaining: 3 minutes**_

Kuraima reached out, forming Sidus in his hand. Once more, he took a combat stance, the sword's edge glowing with an assertive _thrum._

"What are you waiting for?! Come at me!" The Astral Champion called out with newfound vigor. "Helenski is _MY_ lovely abomination. If you have a problem with that, well…"

" _ **...I'LL TAKE YOU ALL ON!"**_

* * *

 **Author's notes**

 **I know I said I'd conclude this in the last chapter, but...honestly, I felt like this was a pretty good cliffhanger.**

 **Helenski reveals her true...well,** _ **nature?**_ **Her true biology? Dunno.**

 **Anyways, Kuraima gets an upgrade that makes him more like the Terrarian, and a bit more.**

 **No, he won't be going full Gamer, just the Terraria stuff.**

 **And honestly, this Samurai thing? It wasn't exactly planned out from the beginning, and I don't exactly discuss it that much with my fellow writers because of spoiler stuff.**

 **For a more accurate image of Kuraima's incomplete Balance Breaker, refer to the cover image. For mobile users, look up Tehpootisman on Deviantart. Then, imagine that he's only got the gauntlets, greaves, and some chainmail. I might draw that at some point, I dunno.**

 **Anyways, for those worried about balancing issues, I've got plans.**

 **Here's what I have said on the topic during a discussion on the Unofficial Calamity Lore Server:**

" _Issei is pretty weak compared to Kuraima,_ **(Note: This is because Kuraima has had minor combat training from where he grew up in the United States plus his exercise routines, yet Issei can't even use a teleportation circle on his own)** _however, being a reincarnated Devil, he has the potential to surpass whatever limits Kuraima's human body has._

 _In addition, Kuraima's strength (as of now) mainly relies on [the usage of] multiple different powers (Such as Blessing and Third Eye), while Issei can just use the power of exponential growth to close the gap with raw power"_

 **Regarding the Balance Breaker...**

" _Issei has to sacrifice his arm just to achieve his first balance breaker for *15 seconds*, however even then it's really strong. In that 15 seconds, he's able to use holy water_ _ **[...]**_ _to beat a High-Class Devil, whose ability is *immortality* (Read: Regeneration that rival those of Terrarians), into submission._

 _On the other hand, I've decided that Kuraima will unlock his Balance Breaker piece by piece._

 _Because of this, his Balance Breaker would last much longer than Issei's, at the cost of raw power and some durability (Until he unlocks the full set)."_

 **TL;DR: Issei would whoop Kuraima's ass in terms of sheer power, provided he can get there in the first place.**


	12. All Returns to Slime, Unless Purged

**Okay so this time, I can confirm that this arc WILL end with this chapter.**

 **After this will be the familiar forest and then the Phenex arc.**

* * *

 **Review corner**

 **Ronmr -** Yeah, pretty much.

* * *

Sidus flew through the air as Kuraima sliced through one of Laye's Dank Creepers, while Koneko, borrowing his baton, swatted some of Smar's minions out of the air.

"Koneko-san! Helenski-san! I'll leave the minions to you! Cover my back and get anything that slips past me!"

"Right."

"R-Right..!"

The Astral Champion ran forward, sword in hand, slashing at the two Brainiacs, who quickly warped away in a panic.

Mr. Thesaurus clenched his fist, trying to look menacing. "Grrr! Just because you've attained your _Forbidden Move_...it's still two against one, imbecile!"

Kuraima smirked. "Yet the odds are in my favor!"

The homeless-looking wielder of _**[Parasitus Cerebrum]**_ opened his giant torso jaws, spewing out several minions, which the Astral Champion's **[Appraisal]** quickly identified.

There was a pretty long worm— nowhere near the length or size of Eatah's or Perfa's— with a singular eye that Kuraima's ability identified as a _Devourer._

It charged at him, only to be chopped in half as Kuraima's heightened abilities allowed him to react quickly.

Another minion, an _Eater of Souls_ , attempted to sneak around, but a glowing explosive rock from Helenski quickly ended that plan.

Smar attempted to capitalize on this distraction with a quick strike to his back, however…

...punching chainmail with your fists is a horrible idea. So much for being an "Intellectual", huh?

Kuraima hardly felt the impact, but it was enough to alert him. He swung Sidus around faster than the red brainiac expected, scoring a good blow against his midsection.

' _Heh, this sword really pulls its weight, doesn't it? Wonder what its made of…'_

He kicked Smar away, focusing his attention on his foe's purple partner in crime.

' _Now, let's see...how do I do the mana thing?'_

As if on command, Sidus' edge began to glow as did the magic veins on Kuraima's body, transferring his mana into the sword.

 _Mana: 80/100_

He pointed his sword at Laye and swung, only for the man to dodge.

"Woah there buddy, you're gonna have to try harder than that to—"

 _ ***WHAM!***_

A trio of star-shaped projectiles plummeted from above, smashing into the many-jawed homeless man.

"Talk shit, get hit!"

Laye teleported away, spewing more minions to distract Kuraima.

* * *

"Dude, what are we gonna do? The boss is gonna have our heads if we don't have his?"

"Well, you lazy neanderthal, we simple attack at precisely the exact same time!"

"...Okay, that's better than nothing, I suppose."

As the two teleported away to enact their so-called master plan, neither of them noticed a small blue pulsating ball of gel hop out of the bushes.

* * *

The two brainiacs reappeared above Kuraima, ready to dropkick him in tandem.

They fell from the air, missing as the Astral Page hopped out of the way. They teleported away, ready for a new tactic.

Three illusionary clones of Smar appeared, all three appearing as solid as the original.

"Decipher _this!_ "

Kuraima looked around, watching the illusions come at him.

' _Hm…let's see here…'_

The fountain was still spraying water into the air. So when he noticed that only one of them was actually displacing the mist…

He slashed!

And he scores!

"Gah!"

As he did, Laye warped in, flying around in circles around Kuraima's head and spawning more minions.

Curiously, most of these minions held back, refraining from attacking Kuraima or his comrades.

 **Astral Page (Incomplete Balance Breaker) - 1 minute remaining.**

"Go! One final all-out attack!"

Smar teleported away, reappearing with a horde of his own minions.

"We shall end this, at this very moment!"

Both brainiacs teleported away, reappearing around Kuraima. They both circled him, Laye spawning foul clouds of acidic gases, and Smar using his illusions once more.

Their intent was to overwhelm him with sheer numbers, as their minions also charged forward.

Helenski couldn't hope to kill them all, at least not without maiming the Astral Champion in the process as far as he was concerned.

 **[Rage] is fully charged.**

 **[Adrenaline] is fully charged.**

Yet, Kuraima felt calm. He didn't know how, but something just…came to his mind, as if by instinct.

Thanks to his powered-up state, the rate at which his boosts built up had also increased.

Sidus began to glow, brighter than before as he pumped it full of mana.

 **Mana: 20/100**

He closed his eyes, a mixture of red and green auras flaring up as his **[Rage]** and **[Adrenaline]** activated.

Time slowed down for him.

He opened his eyes, gazing upon the monstrosities around him.

"Astrum Deus sends his condemnations."

And so, he swung wide. The momentum kept him going, coming full circle.

Yet he kept going, putting in his energy for a powerful jump, spiraling up and out of the horde.

Stars seemed to fill the sky.

And so, Kuraima gave them Heaven's Hell-Sent Gift.

* * *

Astral Stars rained down from above, threatening to turn night into day.

The monsters died in mass, with the two Brainiacs becoming knocked out in the process. Their bodies sewed themselves back together, giving them the appearance of normal humans once more.

 **Smar Tass, the wielder of** _**[Sanguis Cerebrum]**_ **and Laye Z, the wielder of** _**[Parasitus Cerebrum]**_ **have been defeated!**

The Astral champion landed in front of the two short white-haired girls, with 15 seconds still left on the timer.

"So how'd I do?" He asked as Sidus faded into purple motes of light. "Hopefully, it was to your liking?"

"...It was okay." Koneko replied halfheartedly.

Helenski blushed heavily, twiddling her thumbs. "T-Those things you s-said about me…"

Kuraima chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

"Eeer, yeah, sorry about the whole 'abomination' bit…sorry. I...kinda got caught up in the heat of passion, y'know?"

He suddenly found himself pulled into a tight hug, as tears began to well up in her eyes. Utterly confused, he looked over at Koneko and mouthed the words ' _Help me.'_

She just shrugged, leaving him to deal with the clingy girl currently attached to him.

A few moments passed. His Balance Breaker ran out, but she kept on hugging for a good while before pulling away, wiping the tears off of her face.

"T...Thank you, Kuraima-san. T-This means a lot to me…"

"...O-Of course! What kind of boyfriend d-do you think I a-am?"

…

"K-Ku-san...can...can you do something for me?"

"Y-Yeah? What is it?"

She moved in for a kiss.

 **WHAM!**

Only for a small, pink object to uppercut Kuraima's jaw. Panicked, Helenski accidentally let go, allowing the Astral Champion to go spiraling into the nearby bushes.

"So you're the one who has beaten up my pathetic underlings."

Floating above the remains of the fountain was a person in an oversized brown cloak. "I go away for one week, and THIS is what I come back to? Utterly disgraceful."

A multitude of slime-like creatures came hopping out of the bushes around them, gathering around the newcomer, including the absurdly small pink slime that just utterly decked Kuraima.

"If you want something done right…"

Two huge masses of slime appeared as the figure revealed their arms, both equipped with a glowing bracelet.

"...Then you have to do it yourself."

They threw off the cloak, revealing what one might assume is a man, wearing a generic mafia tuxedo outfit. However, "his" thin build and obviously feminine looks cleary gave their sex away as "female."

She pulled up her bowler hat, revealing a headpiece with a brooch on the center. It held two large jewels, both in the shapes of the Yin and Yang symbol, though lacking the dots.

"My name is Champ. And this is my Sacred Gear, _**[Limus Nucleus.]**_ "

Then, Champ looked down at her arms.

"These are also my Sacred Gears, _**[Purpura Slime]**_ and _**[Rubrum Slime].**_ "

"Th...Three…?" Koneko asked, getting into a combat stand alongside Helenski.

"Indeed. I was born with the core that sits upon my head, but those who were conjoined with me in the womb...they were weak, and I reaped the spoils of war, as the strong always do."

The two massive globs, colored purple and red respectively, began to mold, taking the form of a pair of women in french maid uniforms.

"Now, we end this. Nobody leaves here alive…

 _ **...Except for me."**_

 **Champ, wielder of the Slime God's Sacred Gears, has awoken!**

Helenski grimaced.

She didn't know how to describe the feeling that overcame her.

Whatever it was, one thing was certain;

 _This bitch had hurt the man she loved._

"Koneko-san. Take Ku-san and run."

"But...that'll mean…"

"J-Just do it! I'm the only one here strong e-enough to h-hold her off!"

"..."

"G...G-Go!"

The Kuoh cutie nodded solemnly and grabbed Kuraima, before hightailing it out of there.

Now that he was safe, Helenski looked up at Champ.

"I...I'm n-not gonna f-f...FORGIVE…y-you…!"

She shuddered, clenching her fists hard enough to make her fingernails draw blood.

"I...I'm gonna...gonna give y-you one last c-c-chance to b-back down…!"

"As if to taunt me, the world sends me a trembling child. Say, what can a child as you accomplish?"

"W...Well...if…if you don't back down…I...might…"

"I have no time for games, child! Spit it out."

"I MIGHT ACCIDENTALLY KILL YOU!"

Everything went relatively quiet for a moment.

Champ gave out a sarcastic chuckle, before throwing her head back in full on Tidus laughter.

You know the one.

She finally calmed down and sneered. "Don't make false claims so boldly, child." Then she shrugged, floating down to the shorty.

"Go on, hit me. I won't dodge or parry it."

"W...W-Well...if you say so…!"

Helenski reared back her fist.

For a split second, time slowed down for Champ. In that half a second when Helenski's face turned into one of rage and determination, the Apostle of the Slime felt a paralyzing chill go down her spine.

The shy girl's fist connected with her enemy's abdomen.

Several of Champ's ribs turned into a fine bone paste as her body threatened to snap in half, bending at angles that shouldn't be possible for the human body.

The resulting shockwave caused her to temporarily go deaf as her ears began to ring.

 _Then_ she was launched, smashing through several trees that surrounded the area.

All hell broke loose.

The slime army immediately mobilized, hopping towards her at high speeds.

The Nephilim swung her arms to unleash a wave of purifying flame that tore through their ranks in an instant, leaving only the Slime Maids.

The two moved gracefully through the battlefield, forming spears made from their gel bodies. They lanced forwards, aiming to gore Helenski through the chest.

What they didn't expect was for the somewhat short, somewhat plush girl to quick-step back several feet and launch a large ball of fire at them.

Unfortunately for her enemies, their slime was quite flammable. Their normally stoic facial expressions turned into those of agony and terror as their gooey bodies began to burn up.

They broke down, trying to snuff the flames out by warping and twisting their bodies, to little effect. Eventually, they resorted to shedding their mass, leaving behind a rapidly shrinking puddle of slime.

Now, there were four adorable knee-height slimes, who now took the appearance of small jousting knights riding on armored horses. One raised their lance and squealed, causing another wave of slimes to emerge and form into ranks like an actual army.

Another one of the knights, one of the purple ones, raised their own lance and formed several winged slimes.

The apparent leader squealed again, signaling the charge.

With great haste, the mini army closed the distance. However, when the time came to strike, resistance came in the form of a cocoon of stone encompassing Helenski's body.

They threw themselves at the cocoon, trying to brute-force the thing to no avail.

Suddenly, wisps of flames emerged from the barrier, draining the very life essence out of everything it touched. The slimes in its path instantly shriveled up and died, turning into puddles of sticky jelly.

The leading red knight called off the attack, but it was too late; blazing spears flew through the air and impaled anyone unlucky enough to be in the way.

As if that weren't enough, Helenski's shield finally exploded, sending massive amounts of Holy flame and exploding rocks into the surrounding area.

If Eatah didn't make this place look like a war zone, well, now it did.

Meanwhile, Champ finally re-entered the fray, clutching her stomach and stumbling towards the fight.

' _I...impossible. I, who have worked all my life to become strong...was defeated by a chubby waitress?!'_

She grit her teeth, shaking her head.

"No. I cannot allow this." She held her arms out, the jewels on her bracelets plus her headband glowing brightly.

" **Balance Breaker: Statigel Shogun - Mage!"**

Cyan-colored armor plates made of solidified gel with materialized on her body, her headband transforming into a jingasa (The conical samurai hat thing).

The four slime knights were pulled away towards her, fused back into singular globs of their respective color of slime. They reformed, taking on the appearance of kunoichi, wearing suits of armor almost identical in appearance to their master's.

They moved with blinding speed, circling around Helenski who now began to look panicked at the new development. They threw their arms out, spawning dozens of large dark purple orbs. When the three regrouped in front of the fountain, there was a massive field of floating mines.

" **Abyssal Barrage!"** Champ yelled as she snapped her fingers. The orbs glowed, moving towards Helenski at a steady pace, their starting positions making it impossible to escape.

"Sayonara."

The mines then all exploded, kicking up an insane amount of smoke.

For a split second, Champ could've sworn that she saw some kind of large, fluffy white dove with its wings outstretched in front of her opponent before the combination of explosions and intense smoke completely obscured them from view.

When the smoke cleared, there was nothing left other than a crater that was at least 5 ft deep.

Champ let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She felt...relieved.

And…hella sweaty. Come to think of it, it was rather hot out despite it being the evening...

...

...

...

" **So this is the power of the Slime God? Pathetic."**

Her mind blanked as an ethereal voice came from behind, her back arching in raw, primal fear.

Slowing turning around, Champ gazed upon Helenski.

But what stood there _wasn't_ Helenski.

The short girl had grown into a staggering 7ft tall amazonian-type being. What was once plush weight had skimmed and toned muscles.

Her once black wings were now made out of pure flame, giving off intense heat and spreading a shower of embers with each move.

But most frightening of all was the cold gaze that fell upon her. A pair of black voids lit only by a pair of glowing orange irises.

Champ yelped and fell on her ass, her armor audibly clambering as she scrambled to back away. "Wh—Wha…?! What are you…?!"

" **My name is Providence. You best remember that, sinner. My very existence is what you would normally call a Balance Breaker. However, I am no such thing. I am not merely a spirit bound to a magical cell."**

The tall woman approached her menacingly. " **In fact, I am not even a true part of this unruly Sacred Gear system. I formed a contract with this host, who I made sure survived long enough to be birthed into this sinful world."**

She stopped moving, staring at the Slime God's wielder.

" **Your desires...I can sense them. Feel them. You seek power, to be at the top of the food chain of society."**

Providence never seemed to blink, her eyes locked onto Champ's own with robotic precision, staring deep into her soul.

" **I will never understand you humans and all your filthy desires."**

The Slime God's wielder quickly dove into a dogeza pose. "P-Please! I-I'm sorry! C-Clearly you're the s-superior being…!"

" **It's far too late to beg for forgiveness."**

"W-Wait! Please! I...I can be of use to y-you! I promise!"

" **You couldn't even leave a scratch on my host. What makes you think you're in any position to negotiate?"**

"A-Ah...I...I have many...associates, yeah! I...strength in numbers, right?!"

Champ couldn't even bring herself to fight. Even in her Balance Breaker, her body _**refused**_ to acknowledge the _fight_ in _Fight or Flight._

A large spear began to form in Providence's hands. " **Yet their collective efforts couldn't even finish off this host's lover."**

"Ah...w-well...uhm...then...maybe we demi-gods should stick together, r-right?!"

The ground cratered as her hand was _crushed_ beneath Provi's powerful stomp, being flattened as all the material giving it shape was instantly crushed into dust, as well as _dispelling the entire suit of armor._

" **How does it feel to finally meet a true apex predator? I know that feeling all too well."**

Champ screamed in pure agony, only to be cut off as Providence grabbed her by the throat and held her up in the air.

" **Enough with the prattle. Your attempts to bargain will only make things worse."**

The goddess increased her pressure, threatening to crush the mob boss's windpipe.

"N-No! Stop! Please! Leave big sis alone!"

Providence looked down to see a young boy, about the age of 5 or 6, trying to kick her in the leg to no avail. Sitting upon his head was a large jeweled crown oozing with slime.

" **Small child, what are you doing here?"**

"Y-You're _sniff_ b-bullying nee-chan...!"

" **Bullying? What I am doing is purging."**

A pair of skeletal hands and arms appeared as another person flung themselves into the fray. "Leave the boss alone! She's just trying to make life here better for us!"

" **Better…? Have you got Sherlock Syndrome? She acts as nothing more than a tyrant."**

"That's where you're wrong!" An eye-patched woman in black charged into the fray, wielding a sword and a shield that resembled an eyeball with teeth instead of pupils. "She pulled us all off the streets! She changed our lives for the better!"

"I-Indeed…" Smar suddenly spoke up, grasping his wounded chest, shambling forwards like a zombie. "She improved our livelihoods for the better. Boss bestowed us a reason to live on!"

Perfa was next. "We were all o-outcasts…exiled because of our powers. She found us, took us in…"

"Y-Yeah, she worked us to the bone, called us weak…" Laye sat up, putting his beloved housecoat back on. "But I think she's just...y'know, looking out for us."

"Beth….bethids." Eatah paused, before forcing her jaw back in place with a sickening snap. "What would your host think of you? What about your host's _lover?"_

That…that caught Providence off guard. She unconsciously loosened her grip on Champ's throat.

Then, the goddess sighed, dropping the Slime God's wielder.

" **Fine. You win this time. The cafe manager would skin me alive if he found out that I had slain all of you."**

She turned her back to them, walking out of the park as the gangsters rushed to their leader's aid.

"Y...You lot…" Tears had formed in her eyes. Not from the pain, but from hearing the heartfelt praises of her...underlings.

Providence paused, looking over her shoulder.

" **I'll take you up on your offer, wielder of the Slime God's power. From now on, you work under me, my host, and her lover."**

Champ looked at her for a few moments, then nodded. "I...I understand."

" **Good. Pray that you do not cross me again, next time there won't be a chance for you to beg."**

* * *

 **[The next morning…]**

Kuraima opened his eyes, finding himself in his own bed.

He struggled to remember what happened last night, the memories of that fight having grown hazy.

Before he could get up, he realized that a pair of arms were wrapped around him, and that his "pillow" was rather...heartbeat-y, to say the least.

He looked up to see the serene sleeping face of Helenski.

…

…

…

Nice.

He smiled and decided to sleep a little longer.

From the open window a goddess, in the form of a fluffy white bird, watched over them.

' _So this boy wields the power of Astrum Deus. How curious.'_

—

 **[The following Monday…]**

Just as Kuraima opened the door to head off to school, he was halted in his tracks by the sight of Champ, who was once again in a dogeza pose.

"P-Please forgive me and my underlings! W-We have w-wronged you and your lover, a-and as such, I...no, _we_ will do anything you s-say…"

"...what?"

" _...Anything…"_

"...Okay, yeah, you're forgiven, now please _get off of my porch_."

"Y-Yes m—"

"Do _NOT_ start with the "master" bullshit! Do I look like a harem protagonist to you?!"

"...W-Well, if you'd like—"

"Get the _fuck_ out, I'm already taken by a wonderful girl and I'm a good boy who believes in monogamous relationships."

* * *

And that's how Kuraima got promoted to a Level 100 Mob Boss, thanks to his girlfriend.

* * *

 **Authors notes**

 **This chapter's a bit of a mess because I was ready to get this arc over with.**

 **But with that, I gotta say...**

 **Holy shit, Grammarly did NOT like this chapter.**


	13. Bonus chapter 1

**Hey guys, Tehpootisman here, with a bonus chapter.**

 **This fanfic is not dead just yet, rather, I just needed a bit of a break after burning out, and decided to start another fanfic, this time a Shield Hero/Calamity crossover, called** _ **Sinner in Night's Shadow.**_ **Go check it out!**

 **Anyways, this bonus chapter takes place during Chapter 7, as it was cut out of the final version. Because of this, it's still canon.**

 **Though, some parts may contain continuity errors. Oh well.**

* * *

' _I am curious.'_

The Infected stood in an alleyway, watching as a random street thug stood in front of a warehouse, lighting a cigarette.

As all cities do, no matter the size, they always have a shadier part that nobody really likes going to.

It was quite well known that Kuoh was a safe place, but a few small-time gangs always ran around causing mischief.

What the Infected found, however, was an upstart gang planning to use the Gremory Territory to manufacture some drugs to ship out of town.

Not that it really knew any of that.

It walked out from its hiding place, approaching the thug.

"Oi, kid! Skedaddle! There's nothing to be seen here."

"Kuuuu."

The mobster-wannabe only got a blank stare in response.

"Are you retarded? Scram! Shoo! Let a man smoke in peace!"

 _Stare._

"Fuck off or I'll stab the shit out of you!"

The infected didn't really care, solely focused on the lit cigarette in the man's mouth.

"Don't say I didn't warn ya!"

The man pulled a knife and drove it deep into the Infected's gut.

Huge mistake.

The Infected grimaced in pain for a moment, looking down at the wound. It looked back up and grabbed the now-terrified man by the throat, the Spawn's face contorting into one of primal anger.

" **Kuuuuu…!"**

The thug was promptly thrown out of the alleyway, creating a somewhat comically oversized dust cloud when he hit the wall of another building.

' _Pain is unfavorable. Annoying.'_

With that out of the way, the Infected looked down to see a carton of cigarettes the man had dropped.

Curious, it picked them up.

"Kuuu." It poured the tobacco sticks into its open hand, staring at them intently.

Then it promptly tried to imitate the man, by shoving them all into its mouth. Its eyes looked down at the mishmash of cancer blunts, confused.

' _No glow?'_

It wondered why the ends weren't glowing at all. It shrugged, taking a big deep gulp.

The Infected's gut gurgled before it keeled over, puking up a load of tar.

' _Taste awful! Do not eat!'_

One of the side effects of cigarettes, besides lung cancer, is that it can fill your lungs with tar, which greatly cripples their ability to filter air.

Normally, one would need to smoke cigarettes for a rather long time to accrue the amount that the Astral clone had just barfed up. However, with the Astral Infection's ability to assimilate just about any material, its internal organs simply just produced an excessive amount before realizing how detrimental it was.

Once its insides had been thoroughly purged of the foreign substance, it looked up at its surroundings.

The door where the man had been standing was cracked open.

Curiosity got the best of the Astral-spawn.

"Well, talk about a quick smoke brea— Oi! You're not Terry!"

Inside, the Spawn found several thugs who were (mostly) hard at work trying to make an honest living by making some illegal drugs. Specifically, meth.

"You can't be here, pal!"

The gangsters pulled out switchblades, approaching the intruder in a menacing fashion.

' _Hostile intent! Defend.'_

This, of course, set it off into a violent rampage.

Were it not for the number of various supernatural healing tonics that were present in Nyke's box, it would've probably died out back in that church.

Now, however, the spawn had the means to survive in just about any situation. Instincts planted within its mind told it to fight, and unknown knowledge told it how to do so.

' _Surrounded. Attack in all directions!'_

The Spawn's body bulged and squirmed as two arms morphed into an eldritch mass of unsettlingly long limbs.

" **KuuuUUUUURARARARARARARARARAAAAAAAA!"**

They lashed out, flinging, punching, and slapping all the poor blokes within its unholy range.

A few were sent flying through the wooden walls, however most of them were simply smashed through the wooden walls of the warehouse, smashing into highly flammable meth-making equipment on the way out.

With a sickening _schlorp,_ the Spawn reverted back into its original form as a bootlegged bone-plated clone of Kuraima, just as the production facilities exploded, setting the warehouse ablaze.

* * *

 _Meanwhile at the cafe…_

"...so then, I told her, " _One sees you later, and the other in a while!"_

The group of four laughed as Nyke finished up his story.

"So anyway, that's when I realized that my passport was stolen and now I was stuck in Japan."

The laughter came to an awkward halt at that.

At that time, the sound of a fire truck off in the distance could be heard.

"Huh? Fire squad's on the move."

Kuraima shrugged. "In the few years that I've been here, I've never seen them get mobilized."

Issei shrugged as well. "I've only seen them send out the fire trucks only twice as far as I remember. Second time was when my dad tried cooking without mom's help."

"Woah, okay, now _this_ , I gotta hear."

* * *

The Spawn looked around, watching idly as the chemical flames danced around it.

"What the **fuck** did you do!?" Some young-looking man with an odd shade of blue hair screamed, approaching the Infected. "I left for _**five fucking minutes**_ to get a sandwich from the sandwich store and the whole place has blown its top! This was supposed to be a secret operation!"

"Ku."

"Bah! Who cares! The boss is gonna be so fucking mad!"

…

…

…

"Unless...I know! I'll bring 'em your head! Yes! That'll solve everything!"

A pair of massive crab claws emerged as strands of fungus wove into shape behind the man's back.

"Behold! I am _Cru Stai-on!_ Wielder of the Sacred Gear known as _**[Perfect Infestation]**_! Now, prepare yourself for the beatdown of a lifetime!"

Cru charged forward, his oversized claws moving in to snap the Spawn in twain.

The Infected jumped back, channeling biomatter into its arms to enlarge them threefold and threw them forward.

 _Cronch!_

The Spawns arms were both cut off at the elbow, fingers grasping at nothing as they lay within the claws' grasps.

"What the hell was that?! Hahaha, you're so fucking retarded! What are you gonna—"

 _Squelch._

With slithery slurps and the sounds of bones cracking, Cru watched in horror as the Spawn's amputated limbs simply just _regrew_.

"W-What the fuck?! What the fuck are you…?!"

Cru tried to open his claws but found them squeezed shut. "W-What the hell?!"

He found out why rather quickly; they were lathered up in tobacco tar. The arms he had cut off had been filled with absurd amounts of the vile paste and had spewed it all out onto his claws, sealing them shut.

"N...No way…"

He then realized that he'd been played like a damn violin. The Spawn had thrown its arms forward on purpose, with the _intent_ of losing them.

" _ **Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…"**_

"Shit, shit, shit, shit! Fine! Fine! You can go! I promise I'll let you go!"

" _ **Ku."**_

The Spawn lashed out with an oversized fist, punching the Crab-man in the gut with extreme force, launching him into the sky.

He would later be found unconscious on the other side of town.

* * *

Sometime later, a group of individuals met up that evening as the sun was setting. Two men, two women.

"Can you believe this?" One of them, a woman dressed in all purple asked. Purple trench coat, purple pants, even purple hair. All varying shades of it.

One of the men, wearing equal amounts of purple, shrugged in response. "I mean, It really fuckin' happened. So I don't think we really have much of a choice but to believe it."

"I do not see a timely way to recuperate our losses." The other man, decked out in red, asked. "Once the Devils catch wind of us Sacred Gear wielders, it is only a matter of time before they come after us."

"We can't recover from a blow like that." Said the woman in, you guessed it, _red_. "We just cut our losses and take our punishments."

"Perhaps so, but...my nap time…"

This devolved into bickering and arguing until the woman in red raised her hand.

"That may be the case, but there's nothing saying we can't teach person responsible a valuable lesson in why you don't fuck with us before we bail."

"Oooh, I like that idea. All in favor of gang violence, say aye."

"Aye."

"Aye."

"Aye."

"So a unanimous vote. Alright, so when do we move out?"

"Track him down, and when the time's right, use one of those barrier things that ward people away to set up the ambush."

"Aight, gotcha."

"We're gonna show this punk why they shouldn't mess with us! As the _Sinners of Eden_ , we'll beat their ass!"


End file.
